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

[SkipperKey3]

Heading into another winter. It's been almost four years now, and we know very little more than when she first went missing.

 

[borndem]

<sigh>
Hoping she is with people who love and support her if indeed she is still on this planet.

 

[mickey2942]

I just hope that other residential homes for children have all reviewed their emergency response plans for their residents.

Even if a staff member had just tackled her, before she ran off, she would at least be alive. These kids are in residential care because they make poor decisions and have impulsive behavior. Reactive attachment disorder. Hard kids to help.

 

[borndem]

I just hope that other residential homes for children have all reviewed their emergency response plans for their residents.

Even if a staff member had just tackled her, before she ran off, she would at least be alive. These kids are in residential care because they make poor decisions and have impulsive behavior. Reactive attachment disorder. Hard kids to help.

Agreed, sadly. How many kids are out there like she was/is?

It's got to be difficult for the professionals and other staff to know how hard or soft to go with these kids. Each one comes from a different situation and length of situation, although they often share some/many of the same symptoms/problems.
And once they're "out there" (those who are), then what happens to them?

 

[mickey2942]

Agreed, sadly. How many kids are out there like she was before disappearing?
It's got to be difficult for the professionals and other staff to know how hard or soft to go with these kids. Each one comes from a different situation. And once they're "out there" (those who are), then what happens to them?

Off topic...but read any almost any thread here. Many end up in prison, due to poor decisions, inability to self regulate their emotions and behaviors. High risk of suicide. Drug addiction, over dose.

The ones that can move forward with their lives, it takes a lot of time, patience, caring. They can be helped. But it isn't easy.

 

[Falcon500]

Hi everyone, I've read on serenitys disappearance a little but I've not had the time to go back through the threads so sorry if this has been discussed before, but is there no way serenity was abducted after she ran away? Is that not something le is even considering? Tia

Anything is possible but the odds favoring a sex offender happening to be on a rural South Dakota road at the same time she escaped from the facility are astronomical. She’d have a better chance of being hit by lightning. What could be the case is that she was picked up by a well meaning motorist, heard her story, and then drove to another state and enrolled her in school. The facility was close to the state border.

 

[mickey2942]

Anything is possible but the odds favoring a sex offender happening to be on a rural South Dakota road at the same time she escaped from the facility are astronomical. She’d have a better chance of being hit by lightning. What could be the case is that she was picked up by a well meaning motorist, heard her story, and then drove to another state and enrolled her in school. The facility was close to the state border.

I don't think so. Serenity was not an easy, normal child. Normal kids don't end up in residential treatment facilities at age nine.

Schools now, require vaccine documentation, birth certificates, guardianship paperwork. There is a ton of paperwork involved now. Plus, with her behavior, that, in and of itself would have been noticed, she would have been referred, and behavior specialists have had training on Serenity's case, for risk assessment. So, she would have been identified by now.

I believe that she froze to death under some large tree, and nature took care of the rest. That is bear country.

 

[Barlow]

Serenity, where are you?!

 

[Richard]

Serenity June Dennard, age 9
Missing since 3 February 2019

More photos at link:

Serenity June Dennard – The Charley Project

 

[SkipperKey3]

Another holiday, and still no sign or word of Serenity. Sigh.

 

[Stunned]

Such a bizarre disappearance!

 

[borndem]

Hoping she is happy and smiling all the time, either somewhere in this world or the one beyond.
Hoping her parents are able to have or are having good holidays in spite of their very sad loss.

 

[mickey2942]

I thought about Serenity the other day, impulsive behavior is why she ran away. Most kids her age would be able to process where they are, distance from town, and know intuitively that running away there wouldn't have made a difference.

I still have questions about the timeline.

The other day, the weather here, changed from 45 one day, to the next day, it was 10 below zero.

 

[Megnut]

...knowing what I now can't unknown from another thread, I can't help but to wonder if the facility where Serenity was living received a package at the very same time she disappeared. Across the landscape of America, delivery trucks are so commonplace they can register as invisible.

JMO

 

[SkipperKey3]

...knowing what I now can't unknown from another thread, I can't help but to wonder if the facility where Serenity was living received a package at the very same time she disappeared. Across the landscape of America, delivery trucks are so commonplace they can register as invisible.

JMO

I know which case you are referring to. However, all we know is that Serenity was last seen walking alone by the side of the road. I would think that LE would have checked thoroughly into all the comings and goings to the facility that day, including deliveries. I don't know what records the facility keeps, but I would think LE could check with the delivery companies as well, although they may not have done so if they didn't feel there was any need.

 

[SkipperKey3]

I thought about Serenity the other day, impulsive behavior is why she ran away. Most kids her age would be able to process where they are, distance from town, and know intuitively that running away there wouldn't have made a difference.

I still have questions about the timeline.

The other day, the weather here, changed from 45 one day, to the next day, it was 10 below zero.

Yes, the temperatures dropped drastically. It had been mild for the time of year the prior day (and I believe Serenity's family came to see her that day). On the day Serenity ran away from the facility, it started out rather mild, and was still relatively mild when she bolted (30s I think) but within a few hours the temperatures started to plummet and the snow started, both of which really hindered the search efforts.

 

[MrsWatson]

I still find if strange that if someone drove by and saw Serenity walking on the side of the road, they didn't stop or call 911.

She was nine, and this wasn't exactly an area where she would be walking over to a friend's house. Seeing a 9 year old, alone, walking on the side of a very rural road, should have sparked at least some concern, imo.

 

[Seattle1]

Pennington County Fire Service

Public asked for help finding missing child

Pennington County, SD – Law enforcement agencies are now looking for a missing nine year old girl last seen at 11:20 am, Sunday, February 3, 2019, leaving the Children’s Home Society on South Rockerville Road. The Sheriff’s Office is concerned for her safety especially considering the winter weather conditions and her lack of warm clothing.

^^rsbbm

I'm doubtful about many deliveries on Sunday in 2019.

 

[Rural_PC]

I don't think the timeline is tight on this case. The reaction to the situation brings about all kinds of questions. Many think she is dead in the woods nearby. I think the possibility of a few different outcomes remains. Examples: being picked up on the road, or perhaps a staff member lost their temper?

 

[Seattle1]

Serenity June Dennard, age 9
Missing since 3 February 2019

More photos at link:

Serenity June Dennard – The Charley Project

From the link:

Details of Disappearance​

Serenity was a resident of the Black Hills Children's Home (BHCH), a treatment center for children with emotional and behavioral problems, in the 24100 block of Rockerville Road outside of Rapid City, South Dakota at the time of her disappearance. She was playing in the gym at the home with three other children at 10:45 a.m. on February 3, 2019.

Two staff members were tasked with watching the children. One child ran out of the gym, but stayed inside the building, and one of the staff members went after that child. While the remaining staffer was watching the other children alone, Serenity ran out of the gym. The remaining staff member didn't follow her but stayed in the gym and called for help, since there were still two children in the gym and it was against the rules to leave them unsupervised.

A person coming onto the BHCH campus at 11:00 a.m. was the last person known to have seen Serenity. She was walking northbound on south Rockerville Road, near the cattle guard in front of the home. She was not wearing a coat in spite of the sub-zero temperatures. She has never been heard from again.

[..]

The policy at the BHCH was that if a child went missing, the staff should notify emergency responders within "a reasonable time." After Serenity disappeared, the staff didn't call 911 until 12:26 p.m., by which time an hour and 41 minutes had passed. Instead, they searched the area for her themselves.

The facility faced extensive criticism for its handling of Serenity's disappearance. The state Department of Social Services and the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services investigated and found that the BHCH didn't provide the level of supervision Serenity required, they lacked a sufficient emergency preparedness plan, the staff's initial search for Serenity was "disorganized", and the 101-minute delay in calling 911 did not constitute a "reasonable time."

The state gave the home a Corrective Action Plan, stating that a new policy should be adopted, where staff would call 911 immediately after a child disappeared. Later that year, the executive director of the Children's Home Society, which runs the BHCH and provides other education, shelter, adoption and foster care services in South Dakota, retired.

Numerous extensive searches of the area, involving police, volunteers and search dogs, have turned up no indication of Serenity's whereabouts. The search was reclassified from a rescue to a recovery effort after several days, as Serenity could not have survived for more than a few nights outside in the extremely cold temperatures.

Her case remains unsolved and she is feared to be dead.