The circumstances surrounding the 13-year-old Jayden Robker’s disappearance and de*ath in Gladstone, Missouri, earlier this year are clarified by recently released documents from the Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS).
According to the document, Jayden ran away several times, claimed to have been abused by his mother’s partner, and another child in the family reported that their father had abused them.
Jayden vanished on February 2 and was discovered dead in a pond close to his last known location in Gladstone, Missouri, on March 10.
The first incident, which is undated, demonstrates that no case was filed following Jayden’s escape from home on the grounds that he was being abused by his mother’s partner.
Consequently, DSS sent a packet of counseling resources to Jayden’s mother, Heather Robker, and put Jayden on a safety plan, overseen by his grandmother. According to DSS, Jayden stayed with his grandmother after this incident.
The report’s second incident, categorized as an assessment and not dated, shows that Jayden fled from home once more and reported experiencing the same abuse.
Jayden was given over to Derek Robker, his uncle. Based on the abuse and fear of “being removed from school,” Jayden, who was staying with his uncle, refused to return home, according to the document.
According to Jayden’s aunt Susan Deedon, “Jayden was crying and begging to not go back there,” as she spoke to KSHB 41. “It killed my brother, and now he lives with the guilt of Jayden being gone.”
Although this incident did not result in the opening of a case, DSS attempted to get Heather Robker to sign a power of attorney so that Jayden could continue living with his uncle, but she refused. According to the document, Heather Robker refused services, and her partner was also unwilling to work with DSS.
After this incident, Jayden stayed with his uncle.
The third and last incident on the report describes the alleged abuse of another child in Jayden’s home; it is marked as an investigation and is not dated.
The child reported that their father had abused them both physically and emotionally. The youngster threatened to hurt themselves as well.
The document states that DSS made an effort to speak with each of the five children residing in the home in person. According to the document, the father, who is the biological father of three of the five children but whose relationship to Jayden and his mother is unclear, would not permit DSS to contact the kids.
In order to ascertain whether or not a case was filed in relation to this incident, KSHB 41 News is checking in with the DSS.
“I was astonished a parent can refuse services, refuse them to allow them to interview the children,” Deedon stated.
Three of the five children living in the home were found to be living with the father’s mother by DSS later on.
One of the two surviving kids in the house was reported missing by DSS, though they aren’t named in the report. Heather Robker informed authorities that the child had fled, but the report states that DSS received conflicting accounts regarding the child’s whereabouts.
The same child, who is thought to be Jayden, was later discovered dead in a pond in Kansas City, Missouri, roughly one mile from the location of Jayden’s last sighting on February 2 near Northwest Plaza Drive and Northwest Plaza Avenue.
“Heather absolutely neglected him and let him down first, but I feel like the system let him down second,” Deedon stated. “It’s there in place to protect kids, is it not?”
On March 10, Jayden’s body was discovered. Gladstone police said that the preliminary autopsy results showed no evidence of foul play.
According to the DSS report, Jayden’s cause of de*ath is still unknown.
