Police are asking the public to help track down Jeff Gamez. Police have classified his disappearance as an at-risk missing juvenile case.
The Hayward Police Department says officers are actively working the case and following up on leads. Gamez is described as roughly 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighing about 110 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Police have not identified any known clothing he was wearing, but say he may be dressed in blue jeans, a hooded sweatshirt of unknown color, black-and-white Nike shoes, and possibly a black Puma hat.
Reporting Requirements
Cypress Avenue runs through the Jackson Triangle neighborhood, a residential stretch near schools including Glassbrook Elementary, according to Homes.com. That's the area where Gamez was last seen before he disappeared on his way to school.
California law sets requirements for handling missing-person reports. California Penal Code Section 14211 requires local police departments to accept missing person and runaway reports immediately, prioritize them over property crimes, and issue a Be On the Lookout bulletin right away if the person is under 21 or considered at risk, per FindLaw. The same statute requires agencies to electronically transmit the report to the California Department of Justice within two hours so it lands in state and national databases.
The at-risk designation itself carries specific legal weight. Under Penal Code Section 14215(b), an at-risk missing person is someone whose case involves evidence of a crime or foul play, a need for medical attention, no pattern of running away, parental abduction, or mental impairment, according to Justia.
How Common Are These Cases
Missing youth reports are far from rare in Alameda County, but most end with the child found. County law enforcement agencies received 1,605 missing children reports in 2025, resulting in 927 children returned and 594 located, according to the California Department of Justice. Statewide, the numbers are even larger: more than 66,000 missing children reports were filed with the state Department of Justice in 2023 alone, a 7.24% increase over the prior year, per legislative findings in California Assembly Concurrent Resolution 24.
Nationally, the outlook for recovery is encouraging. Ninety-one percent of missing children reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children were safely recovered in 2024, according to the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Alameda County also has procedures for missing and abducted foster youth, per Alameda County Social Services.
How To Help
Hayward police are asking anyone with information about Gamez's whereabouts to contact the department.
Hoodline has previously reported on other missing juvenile cases in the East Bay, including the search for Angelo Lucero in Hayward. As with those cases, investigators are urging anyone with information, however small, to come forward while the search for Jeff Gamez continues.
