The video shows the last-known sighting of a missing CUNY law student in the same area where his wallet turned up after he had gone missing. NBC New York’s Chris Jose reports.
New video shows the last known sighting of missing CUNY law student Jordan Taylor, spotted on surveillance camera in the same area where his wallet turned up more than three weeks ago.
Now his family hopes the new clue will help bring their loved one home.
In the video, Taylor can be seen walking slowly past the Goldman Sachs building in Lower Manhattan at 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 7.
"Just happy and felt a little relief that he was still there walking around. So I took that as positive news," said Alton Taylor, Jordan's brother who has helped lead the effort to track him down. "Still definitely keeping hope alive he’ll be found safely."
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Alton said his family has been concerned about Jordan’s mental health. The 29-year-old Nyack native went for a haircut on Jan. 6 in Queens, and abruptly left the appointment mid-trim. He hasn't been seen since.
Minutes after leaving the barbershop, he posted a selfie on Facebook and then apparently made his way to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, where he stayed for hours.
"He was hanging for like three hours or so. So it's kind of strange, like, I guess maybe meeting someone? We weren't entirely sure at the time," Alton previously told NBC New York.
On Sunday, Alton and a group of others handed out flyers across the city. Jordan's family first thought he may have gone into a Hell’s Kitchen nightclub, but police reviewed the video and never saw Jordan enter or leave.
His cell phone was found in Hell's Kitchen, while his wallet was discovered in Battery Park — with the money still inside.
It was not immediately clear why Jordan would have gone to lower Manhattan.
"I know I’m gonna find him. He’ll be safe and sound and when the family is whole again, we can go back to a sense of normalcy," Alton said. ""I don't want to rule out a heinous foul play. Like, I don't want to think about it, but I can't rule it out either."
None of Jordan's close friends have seen or heard from him, Alton added.
Complicating matters even further: Taylor was last seen alive in Queens, leaving it a mystery as to whether his wallet and phone were on him, or if they were stolen.
Taylor had worked on the campaigns of current Lt. Gov. Anthony Delgado and Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby.
The NYPD was also calling on the public for information. The department previously said it is policy that any person missing for more than two weeks gets assigned to the Missing Persons Unit, which is now leading the investigation into where Taylor may be.
