A 17-year-old has gone missing from his home on the 500 block of Raritan Street in Camden, and police are asking residents in East Camden and North Camden to help track him down. Zavier Cooks is described as a Black male, 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 130 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. He was last seen wearing a black jacket, gray hoodie, black pants and black shoes.
The Camden County Police Department posted its public appeal for Cooks on Facebook on Saturday, asking anyone with information to come forward. According to the Camden County Police Department, Cooks is known to frequent both East Camden and North Camden, and he has tattoos on his left hand and right forearm that could help identify him. As Newport Dispatch reports, police are asking anyone with information to call the department's tip line at (856) 757-7042.
A Familiar Block for Camden Police
This isn't the first time police have searched for a missing teenager on this stretch of Raritan Street. Back in December 2019, Camden Police searched for 15-year-old Princegumar Akbarrakhan II, who went missing from his home on that same 500 block, according to a report from FOX 29 Philadelphia at the time. The recurrence underscores how often this particular East Camden corridor has drawn public appeals for missing young people over the years.
East Camden itself is geographically distinct from the rest of the city, separated by the Cooper River, Conrail train lines and Route 30, according to a 2021 report from the Regional Plan Association.
The Legal Machinery Behind Missing Teen Alerts
Cooks' case moves through a reporting system shaped by state and federal law. Under New Jersey's Patricia's Law, enacted as P.L. 2007, c. 279, police departments are statutorily required to accept missing person reports immediately, without any mandatory waiting period, according to a safety report from Mercer County Community College. That same law sets statewide requirements for accepting missing-person reports.
Part of a Broader Pattern Across Camden
Cooks' disappearance adds to a string of missing-teen alerts Camden County Police have issued in recent weeks. Hoodline previously reported on missing teen Matias Polo, and the department also sought help locating 17-year-old Azuree Butler in Whitman Park last month, illustrating how frequently CCPD turns to public social media bulletins to gather community tips.
Nationally, the scale of these cases is significant. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children supported 32,167 missing children cases in 2025, with runaway incidents making up 92% of all reports, according to MissingKids.org. The same 2025 Impact Report found that 90% of the cases the organization supported — 29,013 in total — ended in successful recovery, a statistic that points to how rapid public reporting and inter-agency coordination often lead to safe outcomes.
For now, Camden County Police are continuing to ask the public for any information on Zavier Cooks' whereabouts. Anyone with details is urged to contact the department's tip line.
