Appeal seeks 13-year-old Jaday Mejia Morales; current status unconfirmed

13-year-old Jaday Mejia Morales is the subject of a public appeal seeking help finding her in Santa Maria, California. The appeal, published by Edhat on October 19, 2026, reports that she was last seen the previous evening. Whether she has since been located has not been independently confirmed—a crucial limit on what can be said about her whereabouts now. ¹

Edhat’s account, attributed to the Santa Maria Police Department, asks anyone with information about Jaday’s whereabouts to call 805-928-3781. It is a request for public assistance, not evidence establishing why she disappeared or what happened after the reported sighting. The useful details are her name, the reported time and place, her identifying description and a way to reach police. ¹

The appeal places Jaday’s last reported sighting at approximately 5 p.m. on Sunday, October 18, 2026, in the area of 1800 Canopy in Santa Maria. It says she was reported missing that Sunday. The October 19 publication date belongs to the appeal’s appearance on Edhat; it is distinct from the October 18 sighting described in that account. ¹

The location should be kept as precise—and as limited—as the available wording allows. “1800 Canopy” is the location given; no street suffix has been established. The account describes an area, not a verified exact point where she was standing, a residence she entered or a destination she intended to reach. None of those additional details should be inferred from the address wording. ¹

The identifying description carried in the appeal lists Jaday as 4 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 110 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. These are the reported police-provided details, not measurements independently checked against an original police poster. No verified clothing description is available in this reporting. ¹

There is also a limit to the chronology’s verification: the original dated police notice has not been independently recovered. The time, location and description can therefore be reported as details carried in the local appeal, but not as information separately authenticated from a primary police release. That distinction matters when a notice may continue circulating after someone’s circumstances have changed.

The available facts do not establish whether Jaday was accompanied, why she disappeared or whether a crime occurred. They do not establish an abduction, an endangered-person designation or an Amber Alert. A missing-person appeal should not be expanded into any of those claims without evidence supporting them. The concern inherent in a search for a child is not a substitute for knowing the circumstances.

Nor is the absence of a verified subsequent announcement proof that she remains missing. No dated, Jaday-specific official update confirming that she has been located—or confirming her continuing missing status—has been independently verified here. The unresolved question is her current status, not merely whether an older appeal can still be found online.

The case appeal gives 805-928-3781 for information about Jaday’s whereabouts. Separately, the city’s official police contact page identifies the department’s general non-emergency Communications Center number as 805-928-3781, extension 2277. That extension is a general department contact, not a verified dedicated extension for this case. ^{1 11}

The department’s official instruction is to use 911 for emergencies. If Jaday is found and appears to be in immediate danger, that is an emergency situation. But conditional advice about what to do in such a situation must not be mistaken for a police finding that she is currently in danger, and it does not narrow the department’s general emergency guidance. ¹¹

For anyone who may have information, the practical route is to contact police. For everyone sharing the appeal, the essential distinction is between what it reported and what is known now. It supplies a reported sighting and a contact number; it does not supply a verified outcome.