SAN DIEGO -- The mother of missing 2-year-old Jahi Turner spoke out Tuesday with Brenda van Dam by her side.

MISSING JAHI TURNER Light-Skinned African-American 30 pounds, 30" tall Black hair Wearing blue "Winnie the Pooh" T-shirt, blue pants, and gray tennis shoes INFORMATION Citizen Access Phone System: (619) 570-1070 Tip Hotline: (619) 235-8477 Download A Missing Flyer SOUND OFF Share Your Thoughts

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Hear From Mother, Brenda van Dam

Tameka Jones, 18, urged the public to help find her son. "He's a really sweet child. If you know anything, please help bring him home," Jones said.

Van Dam said her wanted to offer support to the young mother.

"The first and most important thing I told Tameka was to come in front of the camera and to ask for help and to ask whoever has her baby to let him go and take him to a safe place. I told her to be strong and to never give up hope," van Dam said.

Meanwhile, hundreds of volunteers continue to help search for the little boy.

Teams of volunteers and police officers spent Monday scouring near the park where Jahi was last seen on foot and horseback, while sheriff's crews combed areas around the nearby apartment complex where the boy's family lives.

Earlier in the day, authorities announced that they had managed to track down a woman who reportedly was in the company of Jahi in the minutes before he disappeared.

"We have spoken with her and will be speaking with her again," San Diego police information officer Dave Cohen said. "We will not discuss how we located her or what she may have told us."

Jahi has been missing since Thursday. Jahi's stepfather said he left the boy while walking a few hundred yards to get a soda at a vending machine.

When Tieray Jones (pictured, right), 23, returned about 15 minutes later, his stepson was gone.

Police encouraged the same kind of public awareness about Jahi's disappearance as that generated by Danielle van Dam's fatal kidnapping.

"What we are asking people to do at this point is to be aware of the child's picture," Cohen said, referring to snapshots that have been widely disseminated by news media. "If you see anything, please give us a call."

Police also set up a "citizen access phone system" line at (619) 570-1070 to provide updates and volunteer coordination.

Jahi is a light-skinned African-American, about 30 inches tall and weighing 30 pounds.

At the time of his disappearance, he was wearing a blue, long-sleeve T- shirt with a rendering of the "Winnie the Pooh" cartoon character on it, blue nylon pants with an orange drawstring and gray tennis shoes.

Officials urged anyone with information in the case to call San Diego County Crime Stoppers' anonymous tip line at (619) 235-8477 or SDPD communications at (619) 531-2000.

Informants could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.

Photographs of Jahi and information about the ongoing search are available at a Web site -- www.JahiMissing.com.

As in the weeks of uncertainty over Danielle's fate, investigations into Jahi's abduction turn increasingly somber as the passing hours mount in the wake of his disappearance, Cohen acknowledged.

"The longer we go before finding him, the more concerned we are that we are (not) going to find him well," he said. "But we never give up hope that we're going to find him well. That's the premise that we have to operate on."