ACTIVE SEARCH SD - Serenity Dennard, 9, Children’s Home Society, Pennington County, 3 Feb 2019 #2

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I see Bugurl747 shared info.

I can add about PRTF use of them here in SD


We did not use isolation but kids were asked to go or sometimes escorted to a time out room. Ours were not allowed to have doors and staff had to remain in the just outside the doorway. We documented everything the resident did. In cases where the child chose to go to the time out room, staff also was just outside the doorway but the documentation was every 5 minutes. All our time out rooms had cameras too. When the client was calm enough to control their actions and behaviors, the processed the incident (or what upset them if they placed themself in timeout) and then they exited the time out room. Kids that placed themself into or went on their own when staff directed them to go into TO rejoined the group. The length of time the resident was in the time out room largely depended on them. They were released as soon as they calmed, processed, and were ready to follow rules and structure.

Those that were escorted there were typically put on a 24 hour Restricted level (which was the closet to isolation we got). R level required they sit away from peers, typically at the staff desk (at the front of the living area) ,complete a write up about what happened, write letters to their social worker and parents/guardians about what happened and being place on restriction, they may also have a relevant packet assigned. All of that was also processed with staff. They could talk to staff but not their peers without permission and even then communication with peers was very limited. They still participated in groups and required physical activity groups but had to be by staff. They could have incoming calls but lost the privilege to call out for 24 hours. They missed out on fun activities(TV, games, crafts) too. If they had a higher level prior to the incident they lost that too and started over at level 1 once they were off restriction. If they got all their paperwork done, we had a little tub of things they could use- like puzzles, clay, coloring sheets, word finds, etc. The 24 hours included sleep time and school time. Kids on run procedures was somewhat similar but a lot more involved

Restraints and Escorts could only be used when a resident is a danger to self or others..like a serious danger to self, not like them using their finger nail to self harm. Danger to others included assault type things, possibly pushing a peer if they continued to escalate. As I previously stated, we could not touch a child to prevent or stop them from running away.

Orders were required for every restraint but we could start a restraint/escort and then call if it was an emergency type situation. All restraints and escorts had a staff or the order writer monitoring. Only certain staff were trained and licensed to be an order writer..sorry I can't remember the specifics but I believe it was a 4 year degree that was related to social work or psychology.

All escorts and restraints were documented via an incident report and a documentation log.

Restraints and escorts were last resort type thing. All staff had a minimum number of our crisis mgmt training hours required per year and we did refreshers. Staff cannot place their hands on the residents until they were certified in crisis mgmt program. That training also included a ton of de-escalation techniques.

Prone restraints weren't illegal (not sure if they are now) but we rarely used them. There are very strict guidelines regarding who cam even be placed in a prone position. Weight, health conditions like asthma, former trauma, etc all play into that. If they could be used it was a 1 min limit before they had to be moved into another position.

We were not licensed for medical restraints, the use of restraint chairs, tie to hold clients. Our restraints were hands on only and we could use spit masks.

Upon admission, residential staff were given intake info that included which restraints could be used on that particular client and those that were not permitted. Like I mentioned health conditions, weight, age, size all impact that but so does the type of abuse a client suffered.

There were a variety of holds and we always tried the least restrictive hold. There were single person and multi person holds. There was a time limit for each specific hold. The staff monitoring the restraint made sure the holds were done correctly, that staff didn't need to be switched out, and they were the only one talking to the client. Less people talking is easier for the clients.

We always tried to avoid restraints and escorts but sometimes they were necessary for safety reasons. Not gonna lie, I hated them and got really good at my de-escalation skills so I could avoid them as much as possible!

Staff were trained in a variety of things to try and de-escalte the situation. We were also informed of things going on with the client that might cause issues so we could be proactive. The clinical team did a great job of giving us other interventions that might help too. We also gave the therapist ideas of things that could help.

Just a note: As I said I am more familiar with CHS Sioux Falls Children's Home than I am Black Hills Children's Home but they operate similar programs. I know they use timeouts and they have restraint training program too. I am not familiar with the program they use because my center used a different one. I know it was similar to ours though. They used some of the same holds but also used very different ones due to the younger ages of their clients. They also used some different de-escalation techniques for that same reason.
Same on this one too. I’m relieved to hear that Black Hills is similar to the facility you describe.
 
I think that is basically correct, although I think later reports have "confirmed" (if MSM can be called that) that it was a couple dropping off a child. It has never been said who they were, or that they have said anything since then. I don't know what prompted them to drive up and down the road looking for Serenity, unless the Home told them that if they see her again, call them right away and let them know where, because she needs located and brought back right away. The urgency might have been enough for them to do a drive-by search. Again, that is mostly my speculation.

I have no idea if the couple has been talked to at all since then. All we know is that they were the last to have seen Serenity.

I think I read that they dropped off a relative at the home. I guess I still take that to mean it could be a child and it could be someone bringing a relative to work, etc. It sounded as if the 2nd person went in to advise there was a child outside and no hint the person would have went in otherwise which, pure speculation, led me to believe it might be otherwise than a child drop-off because it does not sound like the kind of place one would just drop the child at the curb. My thoughts only though, jmo.

As you say, with MSM who knows but I thought they allegedly drove along the road to look for the child because when the first person came out, the second person who had been watching Serenity had lost sight of her around a bend in the road. I think it was also said someone saw a flash of her running up a hill and I thought that was a staffer, once they were told...

To the best of my recollection yet there are probably news reports that conflict... Did she go along the road and then up the hill or were these two different contradictory sightings? It seems like it is always just bits and pieces and never a cohesive story re MSM sometimes. It is frustrating.

jmo.
 
I grew up in a “therapeutic” group home. This is exactly how we operated. We lost “privileges” if we did the most basic things then you got demerits so you’d have to do the others chores. Sometimes I sat for 6 hours in the hot Texas sun “watching for the wind”. You just had to come in a apologize and tell our prick foster dad he’s was right and I was stubborn. And I like the sun. I too was once diagnosed with attachment disorder, bipolar 1 and authoritative defiance disorder.
I’m 36 and a business owner and happy in a loving marriage but those foster homes damaged me. You guys can’t even imagine. I’m lucky to have made it out.

It sounds like despite circumstances you never should have had to deal with that you made a success of your life. I am sorry you had such a childhood.

Sharing this though is important I feel because it shows there is another side to these issues sometimes and not all take in children out of the goodness of their hearts.

I shouldn't judge but in the case of Serenity, it is a fact they adopted this child and within mere months the parents were split and the father was with a different young woman and the child was going through a broken home situation on top of what she had already been through, with upheaval around her. I do not mean it as a personal insult, it just that it hardly seems like it could have been a stable marriage to bring a child with issues into, nor to allow them to adopt her. They also adopted two children and would it not be wiser to see how you do with one before you adopt a second?

I don't know, just speculation and jmo. All I know is my heart breaks for the things Serenity has dealt with. I am also sorry for what you dealt with, I am sure scars remain.
 
I think I read that they dropped off a relative at the home. I guess I still take that to mean it could be a child and it could be someone bringing a relative to work, etc. It sounded as if the 2nd person went in to advise there was a child outside and no hint the person would have went in otherwise which, pure speculation, led me to believe it might be otherwise than a child drop-off because it does not sound like the kind of place one would just drop the child at the curb. My thoughts only though, jmo.

As you say, with MSM who knows but I thought they allegedly drove along the road to look for the child because when the first person came out, the second person who had been watching Serenity had lost sight of her around a bend in the road. I think it was also said someone saw a flash of her running up a hill and I thought that was a staffer, once they were told...

To the best of my recollection yet there are probably news reports that conflict... Did she go along the road and then up the hill or were these two different contradictory sightings? It seems like it is always just bits and pieces and never a cohesive story re MSM sometimes. It is frustrating.

jmo.
There has been some conflicting reports, but I believe it has been clarified that the people in the car were the last to see her, and that was walking on the road by the gate. No staffer actually saw her outside. The people in the car (and it was later said that they were dropping off a child) reported it, but lost sight of her from the parking lot. So they drove up and down the road trying to find her. I think the idea that she went up the hill into the woods is more speculation that anything, based on the fact that she was no longer walking along the road just a few minutes later when the people in the car went looking for her. I don't think anybody actually SAW her dart up the hill.

So, to answer your question, it was just one sighting. I had thought it was two sightings for awhile, but then I saw it clarified in a later story. Stories then have reiterated that the last she was actually seen was walking along the road.
 
It sounds like despite circumstances you never should have had to deal with that you made a success of your life. I am sorry you had such a childhood.

Sharing this though is important I feel because it shows there is another side to these issues sometimes and not all take in children out of the goodness of their hearts.

I shouldn't judge but in the case of Serenity, it is a fact they adopted this child and within mere months the parents were split and the father was with a different young woman and the child was going through a broken home situation on top of what she had already been through, with upheaval around her. I do not mean it as a personal insult, it just that it hardly seems like it could have been a stable marriage to bring a child with issues into, nor to allow them to adopt her. They also adopted two children and would it not be wiser to see how you do with one before you adopt a second?

I don't know, just speculation and jmo. All I know is my heart breaks for the things Serenity has dealt with. I am also sorry for what you dealt with, I am sure scars remain.

I'm randomly following this thread. Is her adopted brother her biological brother?
 
I still can't understand why there is so little talk of a kidnapping. Why isn't she being shown all over the national news - I know hundreds of children are missing and only specific cases that tick the boxes get media coverage, but I think the fact she escaped from a children's home should be enough to garner interest. Is it lack of funding from the foster parents? Is that how most of the these stories get national coverage?

Was she seen twice or just once? I know she was seen by the gate and then I remember hearing something about walking on Rockerville Rd. Was that the same sighting or two separate ones?

I think that shows she didn't bolt into the woods, she was following the road. The place looks absolutely in the middle of nowhere and there are two very close by sex offenders. Not to mention any random crime of opportunity person driving by. I think her face needs to be everywhere! Keep searching for her body in the woods, but also try to find her alive like Jayme Closs or Elizabeth Smart!

I don't think LE has given up on that angle. It remains a possibility. But it appears like only a remote possibility, as the weather was bad and getting worse, and the road isn't a busy road, and she was seen on the road, and then right after that the couple went looking for her and she was no longer there. Nobody has ever mentioned any other traffic. But I don't think LE has abandoned that idea.

Yes, she was following the road, but then just minutes later she was no longer on the road, which is why they think she left the road and headed up into the hills. (There was only one sighting.)
 
There has been some conflicting reports, but I believe it has been clarified that the people in the car were the last to see her, and that was walking on the road by the gate. No staffer actually saw her outside. The people in the car (and it was later said that they were dropping off a child) reported it, but lost sight of her from the parking lot. So they drove up and down the road trying to find her. I think the idea that she went up the hill into the woods is more speculation that anything, based on the fact that she was no longer walking along the road just a few minutes later when the people in the car went looking for her. I don't think anybody actually SAW her dart up the hill.

So, to answer your question, it was just one sighting. I had thought it was two sightings for awhile, but then I saw it clarified in a later story. Stories then have reiterated that the last she was actually seen was walking along the road.

Thank you for clarifying. I remember someone seeing her go up the hill and I am pretty sure it was MSM. Maybe it was later cleared up. If that is the case, it is no more unlikely she was picked up then that she headed into the hills since she was never seen heading into the hills nor have they found a trace.

I am not saying she is not out in the woods since no one has come forward but simply saying that either is possible. I was under the impression the last sighting was her running up a hill in the woods... I recall thinking well they then at least have a direction she went in into the woods to start with...

ETA: In the first paragraph, I do not mean MSM saw her but that MSM stated that I believe.
 
I am very taken away by mom. She is only 25 and wasn’t part of the adoption. She opened her heart and appears to truly care for her. At her age, she is an example of what we should all be like. Welcoming little ones who need loving.
It’s makes it even more heartbreaking that she has a home that wants her back and she will never truly know that, or hopeful if she pasted she can see that now.
Where are you little one? You are center of attention, we all have our eyes on you. Now time to come out of hiding
 
What about the dogs? Did they ever follow a trail? Or brought in too late and weather too difficult for good scent? I wish there had been a massive outside search with helicopters and dogs within the first few hours (maybe there was?).

What about the thought that she did hide in the woods originally and when it started getting dark and very cold she came down and then was picked up on the road? An even better crime of opportunity in the dark.
 
What about the dogs? Did they ever follow a trail? Or brought in too late and weather too difficult for good scent? I wish there had been a massive outside search with helicopters and dogs within the first few hours (maybe there was?).

What about the thought that she did hide in the woods originally and when it started getting dark and very cold she came down and then was picked up on the road? An even better crime of opportunity in the dark.
FEB 3: Pennington County Deputies, Pennington County Search and Rescue, Custer County Search and Rescue, Rockerville Volunteer Fire Department, Rapid City Fire Department and at least three dogs searched the area into the night. It was 4 degrees and snowing.


FEB 4: More than 65 people and four dogs continued to search including Pennington County Deputies, Pennington County Search and Rescue, Custer County Search and Rescue, Rapid City Police Department, Rockerville Volunteer Fire Department, Rapid City Fire Department and the Civil Air Patrol.

Additional resources were brought in and the search continued into the night using K9 units, ground crews, and all terrain vehicles.
ACTIVE SEARCH - SD - Serenity Dennard, 9, Children’s Home Society, Pennington County, 3 Feb 2019

Press Conference:

UPDATE: Sheriff's Office looking for couple who last saw missing girl
Dogs alerted to "areas of interest," said Tammy Stadel, team leader for Pennington County Search and Rescue. "Unfortunately, none of those leads have turned anything up for us."

Searchers turned to the air in efforts to find Serenity Dennard
Civil Air Patrol Col. Mike Beason woke up at midnight on Sunday with a call asking for his help. Beason found a pilot in Rapid City to fly Monday at 7:30 in the morning.

FEB 5 (AM): More than 100 people including dogs searched for Serenity and deputies went door to door speaking with neighbors and looking in outbuildings, log piles, hay bales, anywhere a child might hide or take refuge. They searched a one-mile radius; Pennington County Deputies, Pennington County Search and Rescue, Custer County Search and Rescue, Rapid City Police Department, Rockerville Volunteer Fire Department, Rapid City Fire Department and Civil Air Patrol.

Search Enters Third Day For Missing 9-Year-Old In Pennington County
LE asks anyone with a game camera set up in the area to review the footage and advise authorites accordingly. They also asked that anyone living in the Rockerville, Foster Gulch and Highway 16 area to search their property and outbuildings.

FEB 5 (PM): The search transitioned into a recovery effort. At this point, more than 200 personnel and six canines were assigned to the search. The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Pennington County Search and Rescue, Pennington County Fire, South Dakota Highway Patrol, South Dakota Wildland Fire, Mount Rushmore National Park, North Haines Volunteer Fire Department, Ellsworth Air Force Base Fire Department, Silver City Volunteer Fire Department, New Underwood Volunteer Fire Department, Box Elder Police Department, Box Elder Volunteer Fire Department, Black Hawk Volunteer Fire Department, Johnson Siding Volunteer Fire Department, Rochford Volunteer Fire Department, Fairburn Volunteer Fire Department, Custer County Search and Rescue, Rapid City Police Department, Rockerville Volunteer Fire Department, Whispering Pines Volunteer Fire Department, Bear Paw Dog Team, Battle Creek Volunteer Fire Department, Rapid City Fire Department, Rapid Valley Volunteer Fire Department, Doty Volunteer Fire Department, Summerset Police Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Meade County Sheriff, Hill City Volunteer Fire Department, and Civil Air Patrol have scoured the area. Searchers have used hand-held thermal imaging devices, distributed flyers, canvassed all neighbors and interviewed more than 60 people to try to find Serenity.

More information in Thread 1: ACTIVE SEARCH - SD - Serenity Dennard, 9, Children’s Home Society, Pennington County, 3 Feb 2019

For example:
Reported timelines on Serenity Dennard's disappearance are confusing
Sheriff has requested special dog teams from Iowa, Wyoming and Colorado. The dogs are trained to located deceased persons although it is very difficult for the dogs to find a scent in frigid conditions.

Pennington County Search And Rescue Explain Conditions In Search For Serenity Dennard
"This is really hilly terrain, right now it's really slick, there was freezing rain the day we got there so everything was immediately slick and hard to navigate," Pennington County Search and Rescue, Rick Lehmann said.

Not only did they use technology and GPS to search, but also trained dogs.

"We have a tracking, trailing dog, we also have an air scenting dog and then some of the neighboring search and rescue have dogs we put out," Lehmann said.

Day 9: Search for missing girl temporarily halted - KNBN NewsCenter1
(Article with good detail on the search efforts - originally published 2/5.)
 
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What about the dogs? Did they ever follow a trail? Or brought in too late and weather too difficult for good scent? I wish there had been a massive outside search with helicopters and dogs within the first few hours (maybe there was?).

What about the thought that she did hide in the woods originally and when it started getting dark and very cold she came down and then was picked up on the road? An even better crime of opportunity in the dark.

She would have never lived until dark. She would have died of Hypothermia long before that
 
Thanks for the huge amount of information on the searches. I still can't help but think she was picked up.

Now I have just finished the Madeleine McCann documentary so sorry if this is crazy. Is there any chance someone in the home could have acted like a "spotter" to some traffickers and set this up? I know she ran away - supposedly at least - and it makes a lot of sense when you hear that was a common behavior. But maybe that is why she would be targeted - an easy excuse to why/how she got out. Surely there are cameras inside the home that verify she did in fact bolt? I will assume so. I just keep reading the MM threads and people that dispute the trafficking theory with her say things like no, normally they go for children that come from foster homes, drug addicts, or poverty- not well off families that are going to have the means and desire raise a ruckus. Kids more like Serenity!

It would be so interesting to me to talk to the people who saw her on the road and get a sense of her body language. Was she waiting? In a hurry? Upset? Looking for someone?
 
Thanks for the huge amount of information on the searches. I still can't help but think she was picked up.

Now I have just finished the Madeleine McCann documentary so sorry if this is crazy. Is there any chance someone in the home could have acted like a "spotter" to some traffickers and set this up? I know she ran away - supposedly at least - and it makes a lot of sense when you hear that was a common behavior. But maybe that is why she would be targeted - an easy excuse to why/how she got out. Surely there are cameras inside the home that verify she did in fact bolt? I will assume so. I just keep reading the MM threads and people that dispute the trafficking theory with her say things like no, normally they go for children that come from foster homes, drug addicts, or poverty- not well off families that are going to have the means and desire raise a ruckus. Kids more like Serenity!

It would be so interesting to me to talk to the people who saw her on the road and get a sense of her body language. Was she waiting? In a hurry? Upset? Looking for someone?

We don't know if there are cameras. There has been no clear info from LE or MSM. Even people that state they have been there or worked there give conflicting info on cameras. The center is old enough that cameras were likely not the norm when it was built so they may not.

I worked in a similar type facility in SD and we didn't have cameras until we built our new building in the mid 2000's. Even then our cameras would have showed anyone exiting the building.

Trafficking is a possibility. Not high on my list but I know it is on some people's. I do think they would choose a child without family like you said but one never knows. Serenity had CD and KD that reportedly had regular contact per their interviews with the RC Journal. We really can't rule anything out from what we have been told.
 
I really can’t explain why, but I really feel like she’s alive. I feel like she is with someone. I have no basis for this other than maybe knowing behaviors of my own almost nine-year-old who has behavior and other issues but not RAD or an attachment disorder. I just feel like she would have come back, dressed like that in that weather. Your survival instinct kicks in. The flip side of my feelings are maybe she did try to come back and became lost. In that case, she wouldn’t have survived.

Maybe it’s just my stubbornness not to lose hope.

MMO
 
Citizen volunteers search for Serenity Dennard - KNBN NewsCenter1

Not sure if it’s been posted. Just more info on Sunday’s search.
Good news! They will begin searching tomorrow. :)
More searches will be conducted this week for the missing nine year old, Serenity Dennard. The improved weather will allow for the Sheriff’s Office to conduct air and ground searches starting on Wednesday, March 27th.

View attachment 176403

Pennington County SO on Twitter
 
I think with the nicer weather tomorrow in SD the land will be easier to navigate and more area will be covered. If she’s out there I think the dogs will pick up a scent. I’m really hopeful for tomorrow. In a way I don’t want her to be found because we all know what that will mean and that type of news always hurts.
 
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