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

[Julia966]

Has there been another case like this where the child was not abducted? I'm wondering if there are corollary cases of children running off in full view of their caregivers and not found relatively quickly. I guess it's hard for me to imagine that they haven't found her yet.

 

[LadyofShalott]

Has there been another case like this where the child was not abducted? I'm wondering if there are corollary cases of children running off in full view of their caregivers and not found relatively quickly. I guess it's hard for me to imagine that they haven't found her yet.

There was a young autistic boy who fled his school in NYC a few years ago who was found in a nearby river some weeks later. I can't remember his name, but I remember following it on Websleuths at the time.

 

[Julia966]

There was a young autistic boy who fled his school in NYC a few years ago who was found in a nearby river some weeks later. I can't remember his name, but I remember following it on Websleuths at the time.

So sad

 

[ilovepierre]

There was a young autistic boy who fled his school in NYC a few years ago who was found in a nearby river some weeks later. I can't remember his name, but I remember following it on Websleuths at the time.

That’s horrible

 

[NervousNellie]

I can't believe Serenity hasn't been found safe. I log in every day just to see whether she's safe. I haven't followed all the details so I don't know her back story - only that she ran off and it was darned cold. My heart is with her, wherever she is, and I hope she is safe.

 

[ilovepierre]

I can't believe Serenity hasn't been found safe. I log in every day just to see whether she's safe. I haven't followed all the details so I don't know her back story - only that she ran off and it was darned cold. My heart is with her, wherever she is, and I hope she is safe.

I can’t believe she hasn't been found either
Because it was so cold, I figured she would have been found quite quickly.

IMO

 

[TTF14]

I can’t believe she hasn't been found either
Because it was so cold, I figured she would have been found quite quickly.

IMO

Starting to think this will be a Teleka Patrick type scenario and she won't be found until a spring thaw .

 

[Jim_M]

Starting to think this will be a Teleka Patrick type scenario and she won't be found until a spring thaw .

That paints a very sad picture. But what if she was picked up.....? I know I know, hopeful but not yet defeated.

 

[Deleted member 158085]

That paints a very sad picture. But what if she was picked up.....? I know I know, hopeful but not yet defeated.

We can’t know she wasn’t, which makes this all the more awful. If she was picked up by some opportunistic criminal, LE will be so far behind that I fear they will never find her.

 

[rebeccaeee]

There was a young autistic boy who fled his school in NYC a few years ago who was found in a nearby river some weeks later. I can't remember his name, but I remember following it on Websleuths at the time.

Avonte Oquendo. So so sad.

 

[human]

I cannot believe that she could go very far in 15 degrees with a shirt and pants. No jacket, no hat, no mittens.

The body slows down in the cold as it starts to protect the internal organs. I cannot see that she could run far.

She would be disoriented and could leave the road, but then the terrain would slow her down.

Could she have run back into the building and is in some obscure place that she has not been found?

I would think getting cold would be a reason to run back inside rather than further away from a source of warmth.

Or, some nasty person happened to be driving out there

 

[moonriverfarm]

One thing I cannot understand is why, once she realized it was freezing cold, did she not come back to the home? I get wanting to run away but at some point it seems she would be SO cold that she would give up and want to be warm again - unless she was lost or had been picked up.

 

[Yellow Rose]

I'm not sure her mind would allow her think things through well from the hypothermia. It probably wouldn't allow her thing R E T U R N. I'm just surprised in those temps that she has not been located nearby by the search dogs.

 

[ilovepierre]

One thing I cannot understand is why, once she realized it was freezing cold, did she not come back to the home? I get wanting to run away but at some point it seems she would be SO cold that she would give up and want to be warm again - unless she was lost or had been picked up.

Once hypothermia sets in, you don’t think straight.
Who knows what was going through her mind at the time...

 

[katydid23]

It is so remote, to me, it's hard to believe there was anyone around to kidnap her. What are the odds there would be a child predator, right there in that small window of time?

 

[Nell1212]

Not sure if this has been touched on yet, but is there is a possibility that some sort of abuse was occuring within the facility she ran from? If a passerby did pick her up, it may not be due to their predatory nature, but an instinct to protect a child who has been victimized. Wishful thinking, trying to stay positive for this little girl.

 

[Deleted member 158085]

One thing I cannot understand is why, once she realized it was freezing cold, did she not come back to the home? I get wanting to run away but at some point it seems she would be SO cold that she would give up and want to be warm again - unless she was lost or had been picked up.

As an adult who lives in the frigid Midwest and also has a medical condition that would cause me to get frostbite sooner than most, I know that even though I know my limits and thoroughly understand the timeframe involved for both frostbite and hypothermia, I still find that I have pushed it to the point of “frost nip” while outside doing chores. Now, I’m never very far from the house when I realize how close to the edge of frostbite that I am. But this was a child who likely had little understanding of how quickly any of this could happen and she was running on adrenaline. She may not have realized she was at a truly dangerous point until it was too late.

Or - someone picked her up... I keep coming back to and worrying about this.

 

[ilovechili]

Not sure if this has been touched on yet, but is there is a possibility that some sort of abuse was occuring within the facility she ran from? If a passerby did pick her up, it may not be due to their predatory nature, but an instinct to protect a child who has been victimized. Wishful thinking, trying to stay positive for this little girl.

I have to admit my mind has went there as one of the possibilities.

 

[ilovepierre]

It is so remote, to me, it's hard to believe there was anyone around to kidnap her. What are the odds there would be a child predator, right there in that small window of time?

There are apparently 2 that live near CHS.
Now whether they were in the area at the time Serenity ran off we just don’t know.
I would hope LE questioned these guys right away.

IMO

 

[MOTORUNNER]

Unfortunatley I think the outcome of this is what we're all thinking..... but I'd like to be wrong. So sad