SD SD - Serenity Dennard, 9, Children’s Home Society, Pennington County, 3 Feb 2019 #4

[borndem]

MOO

After all of the searches, the circumstances of her disappearance, the delays in alerting authorities, lack of surveillance, confusion, questionable leadership, etc, I am still of the opinion that Serenity left the area in a vehicle. Probably not in a random vehicle.

MOO

If so, let's hope it was with someone who had her best interests at heart. She most likely wouldn't have any of her medical records or her birth certificate, etc., and the b.c. could lead to complications for her going to school, etc., and she would have to change her hair color, seems to me, so she wouldn't be recognized, but it's been done before...
Sweet little girl would now be, what, 11 years old -- getting ready to go to a different phase of growing up. That scenario is possible, but IMO, not likely.

 

[MsGazette]

Every time I see that this thread was bumped, I get hopeful there are finally answers

Me too :-(

 

[Luckyzmom]

You are sure not alone there

 

[PommyMommy]

Two years. Where are you, Serenity?

I remember looking at the weather on the day Serenity disappeared and said this on page 1 of thread 1: They need to find her fast.

Serenity was so good at hiding and she just hid too well this time. I still believe she's out there - somewhere in those woods.

Your family needs you to come home now, Serenity. Please come home.

 

[PommyMommy]

Bumping your post, Catmommy, because I love this so much.

Pretty girl, lost girl,
Where did you think you were going?
Even though you couldn't know
That very soon it'd be snowing.
Pretty girl, lost girl,
Unbound did you run around
Until you found a hiding place
So good that you'd never be found?
Pretty girl, lost girl,
How can it be true?
With your success all we can do is guess
Whatever became of you?

 

[YaYa_521]

Two years ago today you captured the heart of the world, Serenity. I hope that you somehow found your way to a place where you felt happiest and most secure. But where is that place, baby girl? Where are you?

Two years later: Serenity still missing, search suspended, South Dakotans wonder

Today marks the two-year anniversary of the disappearance of Serenity Dennard. ... “We’ve just kind of reached a point where we’ve searched every point that we can, in terms of where it makes sense where she could of went,” ... “Our goal has always been to bring Serenity home and so far, we haven’t been able to do that,”

• The search for Serenity is South Dakota’s largest ever.
• More than 66 agencies using scent and cadaver dogs, aircraft and thermal devices...
• Prior to the investigation being suspended, there had been 465 interviews and 224 leads in 36 states, plus four countries.

 

[Catmommy]

Bumping your post, Catmommy, because I love this so much.

Thank you, PommyMommy, the words just flowed from my heart. Serenity's disappearance affects me to this day. Poor little girl, so lost, so missed.

 

[PommyMommy]

FEB 3, 2021
2 years later: Serenity still missing, search suspended, South Dakotans wonder (kotatv.com)
[...]

Serenity frequently ran away from her family home in Sturgis before being placed in the Black Hills Children’s Home in Rockerville. Runaway prevention was part of her treatment plan at the children’s home.

A week before her ultimate disappearance, Serenity ran away from the children’s home. Caretakers put her under “arm’s length only” monitoring, but this monitoring ended right before Feb. 3. At the time of her disappearance, two people watched over Serenity. The children’s home also waited 80 minutes before calling 911 about her disappearance.

[...]

... On Aug. 28, her family announced they hired an Indiana-based investigative firm to investigate her disappearance.

[...]

 

[YaYa_521]

Have any of the children who lived at the home been interviewed again? It's been 2 years, perhaps they have information that wasn't shared back then and/or memories they've since regained.

 

[Nancy19XX]

Have any of the children who lived at the home been interviewed again? It's been 2 years, perhaps they have information that wasn't shared back then and/or memories they've since regained.

Agreed, I would also think about interviewing prior and current employees again too. Things change, loyalties change.... MOO

 

[watcher9]

Do we have an updated map on where the searching has occurred?

 

[PommyMommy]

Do we have an updated map on where the searching has occurred?

This is the last one I'm aware of. Link to the WS post is below if you want to look forward from there. MOO

FEB 1, 2020
Serenity Dennard disappearance: One year later, girl’s fate unknown despite extensive search and investigation

This map shows lines where people and dogs have searched for Serenity Dennard in the area around the Black Hills Children's Home south of Rockerville. The lines, recorded by GPS devices, are blue in places where people have searched and red in spots where people and dogs have searched together. The hand of Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom is pointing to where Serenity Dennard was last seen, about 50 yards north of the entrance to the children's home.

SD - SD - Serenity Dennard, 9, Children’s Home Society, Pennington County, 3 Feb 2019 #4

 

[watcher9]

This is the last one I'm aware of. Link to the WS post is below if you want to look forward from there. MOO

FEB 1, 2020
Serenity Dennard disappearance: One year later, girl’s fate unknown despite extensive search and investigation

This map shows lines where people and dogs have searched for Serenity Dennard in the area around the Black Hills Children's Home south of Rockerville. The lines, recorded by GPS devices, are blue in places where people have searched and red in spots where people and dogs have searched together. The hand of Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom is pointing to where Serenity Dennard was last seen, about 50 yards north of the entrance to the children's home.

SD - SD - Serenity Dennard, 9, Children’s Home Society, Pennington County, 3 Feb 2019 #4

Thanks for this. I do remember that map.
Last night I was thinking about Serenity and thought she just might have circled around to the left avoiding the road and hid where she could keep an eye on everyone searching for her while still keeping the home in view.

When I re-read the article you linked, I saw this.

“As far as what I think happened, it changes every day,” Dennard said. “But I think she’s out there; I truly don’t think somebody picked her up. I think she liked to run and she wouldn’t run very far, but she liked to see people looking for her. I think she watched people look for her and I think she went too far and got lost. That’s just Serenity, and she had done that before.”

Maybe subconsciously I remembered reading that but it came to me real strong last night and that's why I was asking about the map.
I do think they may need to start over on the searching and circle out from the home and its grounds.

Thanks again for responding so fast.

 

[Seattle1]

Serenity was born May 13, 2010, and removed as a toddler from her home when her mother violated the terms of her parole and was returned to jail to serve the remainder of her sentence. Her grandparents were convicted felons (fencing stolen goods) and were not eligible to foster Serenity, and she became a ward of the state.

Reportedly, Serenity had been in 10-12 different foster homes in two years before 2013 when she was placed with the family that would later become her adoptive parents.

Serenity was adopted by Chad Dennard and his ex-wife in 2014 but the couple divorced in 2015. Chad and his now-wife Kassandra had been raising Serenity together since 2015-- until they placed her in the children's home society where she disappeared from in 2019.

Since following the missing O & O West toddlers from California City, I can't help but wonder why Serenity, then a toddler, would be transferred to so many foster homes between the ages 2 and 3. It seems a toddler would be easier to place, and keep in place, right?

To be clear, Serenity spent the majority of her life (from age 3 to 9 when she went missing) with Chad Dennard and his wives, and she was not in the foster system when she vanished.

Reportedly, Serenity was diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder (RAD) and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD), according to her step-mom Kassandra.

RAD occurs when an infant or young child doesn't establish healthy attachments with their parents or their basic needs aren't being met, according to the Mayo Clinic, while DDMD results in children having "extreme irritability, anger and frequent, intense temper outbursts," according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

If true that CPS was responsible for relocating Serenity to a dozen homes as a toddler, I hope that legislation can be written to prevent this or anything known to contribute to RAD from happening to another child.

MOO

'She's Serenity:' Missing girl's parents share daughter's story

 

[Catmommy]

It's quite cold here tonight and maybe that's why Serenity comes to mind. How does a mother ever come to terms with a child missing in such weather? That Serenity is past such discomfort I truly believe but thinking of what she must have endured makes my heart ache, ache, ache.

 

[nwoxland09]

This is my first time posting, I just joined today. But this story was the first I searched for because this little girl has been on my mind every day for the past two years. I have only read this particular post so far, but a few pages back somebody posted a link to a reward post from the SD Highway Patrol. Did anyone happen to see one of the very last comments on that? I'm curious if that was ever looked into by LE.

 

[nwoxland09]

This was posted Yesterday. Reward is $2500.


South Dakota Highway Patrol

This is the post I am referring to.

 

[watcher9]

This is the post I am referring to.

Welcome to WS!

Seems like I remember that theory being talked about before, but it doesn't line up with the facts that show a visitor to the home saw Serenity up the road on the run by herself.

 

[Catmommy]

Little lost girl, you haunt my mind and my heart.

 

[borndem]

This is my first time posting, I just joined today. But this story was the first I searched for because this little girl has been on my mind every day for the past two years. I have only read this particular post so far, but a few pages back somebody posted a link to a reward post from the SD Highway Patrol. Did anyone happen to see one of the very last comments on that? I'm curious if that was ever looked into by LE.

Good post, @nwoxland09.
Serenity has stolen a lot of hearts here in WS -- I'm sure she has also stolen many more elsewhere. I have to smile a little bit at how she looked when she smiled -- I feel sure she must have felt the love of many people she met and knew, but I guess in her mind and at her age, that love as she was able to perceive it, was just not enuff -- not that day she walked away. Sad, sad, sad.

And this --

Welcome to Websleuths,
nwoxland09 !! ​