ALEXANDRIA, VA -- It's been six months since 16-year-old Jholie Moussa was abducted and killed, her body left in a Fairfax County Park.
A person-of-interest, her ex-boyfriend, has been named, but nobody has been charged in her murder.
The Virginia Medical Examiner's office won't release cause or manner of death because Fairfax County Police requested a hold on it, as a critical part of the on-going investigation.
But, Jholie's family is taking action on another front. They're trying to change the laws that prevented an Amber Alert from going out when she was reported missing.
Jholie's death has been so devastating for her family that her parents and sister all moved out of state. But her aunt, uncle and grandmother remain in Virginia, pushing for changes in Jholie's name. Changes that they hope will save other missing children.
Jholie Moussa did not runaway.
But that is what police thought at first. On Friday, January 12, 2018, she had been Snap chatting with someone as she sat with her twin sister, working on her hair. Suddenly, Jholie told her twin she would be right back and walked out the front door on her own. Later, Jholie told her sister that she was going to a party in Norfolk.
There was no hard evidence Jholie was in danger. But on Saturday, when her phone went dead, and she stopped communicating with her sister, her family knew she was in trouble.
"We were begging for an Amber Alert to be immediately issued so that all across the nation or if not the region, billboards, radio stations, televisions stations. People needed to be aware of her disappearance," said Jholie's aunt, Veronica Eyenga.
The Amber Alert law requires that law enforcement confirm an abduction took place before an alert is issued.
"Because of that we couldn't get any real support. Because the legislation in place did not permit authorities to pursue it on that path," said Eyenga.
But Eyenga said some states have made modifications to the law so that other missing children could be included. And that is what they're pushing for in Virginia and nationwide.
RELATED: A Timeline of the Jholie Moussa Case
"I don't care why a child goes missing, if that child is under 18, incapable of consenting or signing a legal contract, that child deserves to be searched for. So we're hoping that we're able to put something in place that says every child, missing, abducted or simply ran away, that all need to be found safely.," said Eyenga.
The family members have been meeting with lawmakers, both at the state and federal level, hoping for new legislation. To help promote that idea and spread awareness about missing children, their organization "Not A Runaway" is holding Jholie Moussa Remember, 1st Annual Missing Children's Awareness Day on Saturday August 4th at the Springfield Town Center. It's an all day even that includes an Amber Alert forum, prevention measures and and free counselors. Learn more about the event here.
The event on August 4th also includes specialists from police departments of Alexandria, Fairfax and Prince William counties, along with the Fairfax County Sheriff's office.
