ACTIVE SEARCH SD - Serenity Dennard, 9, Children’s Home Society, Pennington County, 3 Feb 2019

[YaYa_521]

UPDATE: Investigators have located couple believed to be last to see missing child - KNBN NewsCenter1
9:54 a.m. – Investigators have been able to visit with the couple they requested the public’s help in locating yesterday evening who were cutting wood in the Foster Gulch and South Rockerville Road area. They believe that this couple may have been the last to have seen the missing 9-year-old Serenity Dennard.

Authorities are continuing their search for the missing girl, who has been missing since Sunday, Feb. 3 around 10:45 a.m.

Authorities are asking if anyone has game cameras set up in the area to look at their footage and let authorities know if they have footage of the missing girl. They are also encouraging those living in the area to check their outbuildings and property.

Excellent. Hopefully they'll have answers. Thanks for the update PommyMommy!

 

[YaYa_521]

I was an elementary teacher for 23 years....
In education as teacher assistant many years before that...

I do not recall personally having a "runner"...

But I have had children with many varied emotional challenges in my care...
Typically 30 + students in a classroom...

I DO recognize the situation of being on "high alert" not just for the specific child... But for additional children with special needs...
AND the effect on those other students around them...

I entered the profession knowing there would be situations such as these...

And hoped and prayed I would be ready for the undertaking...
That it was my "mission"... To help ALL students and their families...

Bless you workers who strive to do everything you can do that is humanly possible...
Yet find you are the brunt of the blame for when there are situations where judgement is questioned when deciding the best for the most...

The same people who criticize the lack of professionalism...
Are often those that would criticize as inhumane conditions put in place that could prevent such happenings ...
Such as having complete lock-down...
Leashes on the students...
Etc...
(I am not proposing these measures...
Just giving examples of ultimate procedures that COULD prevent such situations as "runners"...)

Sorry for my speech...
guess it just hit me today...

IMO, your aplogy is not necessary. You may not have realized it but you spoke for more than just yourself. I hope you feel better soon. TY!

 

[Scrapper18]

UPDATE: Authorities searching for couple believed to have seen missing Pennington County girl
Authorities are searching for a couple they believe were the last to see a 9-year-old Pennington County girl who went missing on Sunday.

The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office said a man and woman in their late 20’s were cutting wood in the area of Foster Gulch and South Rockerville Road when they spoke with Children’s Home staff between 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Sunday. Authorities say the couple was driving a pickup truck.

Authorities say they believe the couple may have been the last to see Serenity and would like to speak to them to determine a timeline on her disappearance and direction of travel.

Authorities are encouraging people in the Rockerville and Highway 16 area to search their outbuildings and property.

Curious as to how much wood they had cut. Did they put in the back of their truck? Did they have a tarp covering the wood to keep it dry? Could it be possible Serenity snuck into and hid amongst the wood in the back of the truck? Did anyone search the truck? IF she did get into the back of the truck, where would it have taken her? Just a few questions that popped into my mind. MOO

Edited to correct spelling error

 

[YaYa_521]

Bless you workers who strive to do everything you can do that is humanly possible...
Yet find you are the brunt of the blame for when there are situations where judgement is questioned when deciding the best for the most...

Beautiful quote!

 

[Eleanor Rigby]

I interpreted that to mean that the woodcutters didn't know exactly what time they spoke with the staff - just that they were out there cutting wood between 10:30 and 11:30 so it would have been within that timeframe.

The couple was cutting wood near Foster Gulch and South Rockerville Road and spoke with staff from the Children's Home on Sunday between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., the release said.
UPDATE: Sheriff's Office looking for couple who last saw missing girl

I don't follow the interpretation that "the woodcutters didn't know exactly what time they spoke with the staff." How would the reporters or anyone else besides the staffers know what the woodcutters knew about the time they had seen Serenity? The article indicates that it was only staffers who spoke to the couple, and that it was between 10:30 and 11:30. If a member of the sheriff's dept. had spoken to the couple on Sunday, why would they be looking for them a day later in order to speak to them? If in fact a LE officer had spoken to them on Sunday, I believe, as a matter of procedure, he would have included that information and the time in a report. I see no indication in any of the articles I've read that it was anyone other than staffers reporting the time they spoke to the unidentified couple. I still find it odd that staffers would report the time as starting before the reported time of Serenity's escape. MOO.

 

[mickey2942]

The problem is that so many of these children are special needs, they have zero to none impulse control. Her thought was to run away. If that is what happened.

It is not unlike so many people in prison, most of them lack impulse control.

Maybe she ran to someone who doesn't want to get in trouble for having her. I hope she is found safe.

 

[cybervampira]

Pennington County Fire Service

2-5-2019, AM Update

Latest on the search for Serenity Dennard from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office

Pennington County, SD – The search continues for nine year old Serenity Dennard, who left the Black Hills Children’s Home Sunday, February 3, 2019, before noon.

We thank the public for helping to locate the couple cutting wood. Investigators have been able to speak with them to better define a timeline of events.

Serenity was last seen about 10:45 Sunday morning leaving the facility.

More than 100 people including dogs are looking for Serenity on this third day of the search in dangerously cold weather in and around the Children’s Home.

Deputies having been going door to door speaking with neighbors and looking in outbuildings, log piles, hay bales, anywhere a child might hide or take refuge.

Serenity is a Caucasian female, 4 foot 9 inches, 90-100 pounds, with blue eyes and shoulder length dark blonde hair. She was last seen wearing only a long sleeved grey shirt with flowers, blue jeans and snow boots. She was not dressed for the cold weather.

Pennington County Deputies, Pennington County Search and Rescue, Custer County Search and Rescue, Rapid City Police Department, Rapid City Fire Department, Folsom Volunteer Fire Department, Rockerville Volunteer Fire Department, Civil Air Patrol ground troops and Firefighters and resources from all 21 Pennington County Based Fire Departments are working hard to find Serenity.

Tuesday’s focus is on the general area of the campus within one mile radius. A lot of manpower and assets are in search mode.

If anyone has a game camera set up in the area, you’re encouraged to look at your footage and let authorities know if you see anything.

We continue to encourage anyone living in the Rockerville, Foster Gulch and Highway 16 area to search their property and outbuildings.

Again, if anyone has seen or had contact with Serenity Dennard, please contact the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office at (605) 394-6115.

##

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[PommyMommy]

I don't follow the interpretation that "the woodcutters didn't know exactly what time they spoke with the staff." How would the reporters or anyone else besides the staffers know what the woodcutters knew about the time they had seen Serenity? The article indicates that it was only staffers who spoke to the couple, and that it was between 10:30 and 11:30. If a member of the sheriff's dept. had spoken to the couple on Sunday, why would they be looking for them a day later in order to speak to them? If in fact a LE officer had spoken to them on Sunday, I believe, as a matter of procedure, he would have included that information and the time in a report. I see no indication in any of the articles I've read that it was anyone other than staffers reporting the time they spoke to the unidentified couple. I still find it odd that staffers would report the time as starting before the reported time of Serenity's escape. MOO.

As I said, it is my interpretation but let me try again... The precise time the staff spoke to the woodcutters is unknown but is believed to be sometime between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. I understand how my post was confusing and I apologize!
MOO

 

[Eleanor Rigby]

Just thinking out loud here and reasoning on how she could have possibly gotten out of the area of the home.

What if someone picked her up and gave her a ride to wherever she asked to go, but then didn’t want to notify LE for fear of getting in to trouble? Perhaps fearing being charged with picking up a minor child and transporting without permission?

I am just hoping against hope that there is a reason that she is safe and warm somewhere, and that a good person picked her up.

Besides someone picking her up, I feel the only other good ending this could have would be that she somehow hid in an outbuilding or elsewhere on the property that just hadn’t been searched yet. Or if it has been searched she has managed to evade searchers somehow.

Wouldn't an outbuilding need to be heated for there to be a "good ending?" I don't think that over two days later there can be a "good ending" if she hid in an unheated outbuilding or a parked car, unless the car left soon after and she was transported to an area where she found heated shelter. As sad as it is to think, at this point, if it was not a planned escape with a family member or friend, then an abduction gives her a slightly better chance of survival than any unheated building or vehicle. MOO.

 

[Curiousobserver]

Wouldn't an outbuilding need to be heated for there to be a "good ending?" I don't think that over two days later there can be a "good ending" if she hid in an unheated outbuilding or a parked car, unless the car left soon after and she was transported to an area where she found heated shelter. As sad as it is to think, at this point, if it was not a planned escape with a family member or friend, then an abduction gives her a slightly better chance of survival than any unheated building or vehicle. MOO.

An unheated outbuilding would give her no protection at -5F (-20C). She weighed just 90lbs and was completely exposed. If she did not find a heated space above 40F or some very significant insulation like a barn with lots of hay or tarps then she likely is no longer with us. Unfortunately the only good ending is if she was picked up by someone.

 

[IceIce9]

As I said, it is my interpretation but let me try again... The precise time the staff spoke to the woodcutters is unknown but is believed to be sometime between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. I understand how my post was confusing and I apologize!
MOO

I was considering a heated outbuilding. In colder climates outbuildings are commonly heated to stay above freezing.

 

[mickey2942]

I was considering a heated outbuilding. In colder climates outbuildings are commonly heated to stay above freezing.

Right now, it has been running
-20 here, at night, without windchill. We have a garage with a heat lamp from Costco, and heated dog beds, it is just too cold out there. Our fridge with pop is out in the garage, the pop is frozen solid, in the fridge.

That is how cold it has been up here.

Was it warmer when she ran away? The weather has been odd this year, last Saturday it was warm enough to ride bikes outside, about 50°. How crazy is that...then it plummeted in a day.

 

[human]

Right now, it has been running
-20 here, at night, without windchill. We have a garage with a heat lamp from Costco, and heated dog beds, it is just too cold out there. Our fridge with pop is out in the garage, the pop is frozen solid, in the fridge.

That is how cold it has been up here.

Was it warmer when she ran away? The weather has been odd this year, last Saturday it was warm enough to ride bikes outside, about 50°. How crazy is that...then it plummeted in a day.

Take your pop somewhere. It is going to explode.

 

[cybervampira]

Crews searching for 9-year-old girl who went missing in cold

Authorities say more than 100 people are searching for a 9-year-old girl who ran away from a residential youth home amid frigid weather in South Dakota.

Investigators say the girl wasn't wearing a coat when she slipped away from the Children's Home Society on Sunday morning near Rapid City. The temperature in the area was about 29 degrees (negative 1.7 Celsius) at the time.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

Children's Home Society talks about Black Hills runaway
BO with the Children's Home Society says the safety of the children is the number one priority.

"We are very careful of keeping track of them and where they are at all times. Unfortunately, once in a while, they get away from us. It's very, very rare." BO says this is the longest a child has been missing, that he can remember.

"We are just so thankful that we've got so much help to try to find Serenity."

At least 100 people, including dogs, are now searching for nine-year-old Serenity Dennard, missing since Sunday morning. The focus of the search is a one-mile radius around the Children's Home.

 

[UKslueth2018]

Where is this little girl... been too long for her to alive on her own surely...?

 

[PommyMommy]

I've been assuming that the couple came in to the Children's Home to report what they saw. From reading the above quote, it sounds as if the children's home staff may have been out looking for Serenity and came upon the wood cutters.
Is there any way for Serenity to receive mail or maybe video chat with family and friends from this facility? Are all of these chats and mail screened? I'm wondering if some kind of "escape" plan could have been made in advance and she was picked up at some point after she ran. I'm praying that's the case anyway.

In the video at this link (scroll to the bottom) the director of the children's home says it would be very unlikely for her to have the ability to contact a family member without their staff knowing about it and being present for the conversation. He doesn't say anything about mail, however.
100+ volunteers join search for 9-year-old who fled youth home in bitter cold

 

[Steelslady]

In the video at this link (scroll to the bottom) the director of the children's home says it would be very unlikely for her to have the ability to contact a family member without their staff knowing about it and being present for the conversation. He doesn't say anything about mail, however.
100+ volunteers join search for 9-year-old who fled youth home in bitter cold

It's been awhile since I worked at the group home, but they monitor everything. I don't even know if they would allow cell phones, for various reasons such as kids/teens/adults trying to run away from the home or looking things up like one of our clients did that was wrong- *advertiser censored*. I just don't see how they would allow a 9 year old girl to have access like that without supervision.

 

[ClementineK]

I’ve been following this really closely and find myself constantly refreshing news results in my browser.

I really feel for her. I’ve been that kid wanting to run away to try to get home to family. I think this was the perfect storm for a tragedy but I don’t fault the staff unless something were to come out that puts it in a different light. There are more kids than staff supervising them and if one runs and another takes that opportunity they can’t leave the remaining kids to potentially run as well.

I’ve seen kids wait for the perfect time and dart off with no warning even though staff were paying attention. A friend and I once planned on running on the way to the school building, her stop, from where I was supposed to walk on to a public school, but staff picked up on the totally nonverbal exchange we had going on as we walked out the door and they blocked her from leaving. Looking back, I’m impressed. They were watching, but if it’s an impulsive split second decision while staff are distracted with another situation kids can get away.

It just so happened that Serenity had no coat because she was inside, it was just too cold, and in what looks like a great environment to be really hard to find. I imagine before too long she had to have realized it was a bad idea but maybe she was already too cold and could’ve even got turned around. It would be hard in those woods and hills to have a perspective of where you were and how to get back once you realized it was too cold.

Barring some really unlikely scenario I don’t think she’s still with us. :-(

 

[PommyMommy]

It's been awhile since I worked at the group home, but they monitor everything. I don't even know if they would allow cell phones, for various reasons such as kids/teens/adults trying to run away from the home or looking things up like one of our clients did that was wrong- *advertiser censored*. I just don't see how they would allow a 9 year old girl to have access like that without supervision.

Yep, that's pretty much what he said - if she had any contact at all with family, a staff member would have known about it and been present for the conversation.
And while I completely understand the need for them to monitor the children's outside communication, it makes me sad because it takes away the possibility that she may have arranged a ride, and she's safe...
MOO