Runaway still in hospital, mom trying to figure out what happened

A 15-year-old girl who ran away for more than a week remains in the hospital, where she is “receiving the help that she needs,” her mother told CLIFFVIEWPILOT. “I am still trying to find out what exactly happened, little by little,” said Mariela Souza (in photo). “But I am [also] praying that she will be home soon.”

Jerry DeMarco

09/05/2009 8:35 p.m.

Souza originally feared her daughter may have been kidnapped, but investigators with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office were quickly on Jazlynn Morell’s trail. Tracking her movements online, they found her staying in a south Bronx public housing apartment.

Mariela Souza

See: Online sleuthing smokes out teenage runaway

Countless teens run away after arguing with their parents, only to return soon after. However, Souza told police and a newspaper reporter she was concerned because her daughter is hyperactive and has an attention deficit disorder.

Souza said she hopes she and her daughter (below) can both heal emotionally and make peace after the teen is released from Bergen Regional Medical Center, where she’s being evaluated.

“We have to take baby steps,” Souza said, “and hopefully my daughter will [have] a full recovery.”

Jazlynn Morell

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