New Haven mom makes plea for help finding her 18-year-old son, last seen Dec. 20

Jenkins' mother tells News 12 she returned home from an overnight nursing shift and he was gone.

News 12 Staff

Jan 22, 2021, 10:43 PM

Updated 1,362 days ago

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Friday marks 32 days since 18-year-old Brandon Jenkins left his house in New Haven and never returned.
"I just need to find him--wherever he is," says Jenkins' mother, Brenda Cuffy. "This is not like him."
Cuffy tells News 12 she returned home from an overnight nursing shift and he was gone. She says that he never went anywhere without telling her.
"He always tells me where he's going," says Cuffy. "He's a homebody. He doesn't go out very much."
Jenkins' sister heard him leave the house around 7 a.m. Cuffy tried to reach her son on the phone but he didn't answer. She drove around the neighborhood thinking maybe he'd gone for a walk.
"I went to the park--he wasn't there," says Cuffy. "I kept calling his cellphone and texting him, trying to figure out where he was."
Cuffy says she tried calling him until about noon when it went straight to voicemail. Cuffy says that's when she called New Haven police because at that point she felt that something was wrong.
Jenkins took his phone and headphones with him but left behind his car, wallet, ID and money.
"He left his wallet," says Cuffy. "He had about $190 in his wallet that's still in his room. He has no ID on him."
Cuffy says her son has no history of mental illness or getting in trouble with police.
Jenkins recently turned 18 and graduated from high school last year. Cuffy says her co-workers and her son's former teachers have helped to put up flyers.
"For Brandon to leave the house on a Sunday morning and just not return--it's very scary, it's alarming and I have no idea where he is," says Cuffy. "I go one day at a time. That's all I can do."
Cuffy says her son is 'a kind soul' who loves animals and is a vegan because of it. He also volunteers at a food pantry.
The last thing he said to her was, "See ya mom" when she left for work the night before.
New Haven police are working to determine what happened.
Anyone with information is asked to call New Haven Det. Car at 203-946-6313 or private investigator Mike Hunter at 203-915-1474.
There is also a GoFundMe page set up for Jenkins.