This month marks five years since a 9-year-old girl vanished from a South Dakota children’s home never to be seen again.
Dennard is believed to have run away from Black Hills Children’s Home in Rockerville on February 3, 2019. Pennington County captain Dustin Morrison told KOTA that 220 searches and more than 500 interviews have been conducted to find Dennard, who would be 14 today.
Two employees were reportedly watching Dennard and three other children playing in the facility’s gym when one of the children ran away. Dennard was said to have taken off while one of the employees pursued the other child.
According to police, two witnesses outside the facility are believed to be the last people to see Dennard. She was reportedly seen running down a path that led to a parking lot. She was reportedly spotted near a cattle guard in front of the children’s home before she ran north on South Rockerville Road and vanished into the woods.
READ: CrimeOnline’s reporting on Serenity Dennard’s disappearance
Within days, police classified their search as a recovery mission because of the freezing temperatures when Dennard disappeared. Dennard also vanished without winter clothing.
“If Serenity was outside, it’s unlikely she survived. We have not ruled out the possibility that she found someplace warm to shelter or that someone picked her up. We still have an active investigation and will follow up on all leads.” — Pennington County Sheriff’s Office [February 5, 2019]
Roughly two months after Dennard’s disappearance, Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom said multiple dogs picked up a cadaver scent in the area where Dennard was last seen. Little answers came from this development as dogs cannot differentiate between one deceased body or another, Thom emphasized.
Black Hills Children’s Home reportedly provides treatment to 4- to 14-year-olds who have experienced abuse, trauma, or mental and behavioral health issues. Dennard’s legal guardians said they enrolled Dennard in the inpatient program because she had behavioral issues due to being removed from her biological parents’ care and being placed with numerous foster families.
Dennard’s adoptive father told the media that the 9-year-old deals with severe reactive attachment disorder and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder due to her tumultuous life in the foster care system. He said her mental health issues have caused her to threaten to run away or hurt herself.
Dennard had reportedly threatened to run away from the children’s home before her disappearance. She previously attempted to run away from the home but was caught, according to reports.
The two children’s home employees who were watching Dennard and the other children dispatched additional staff for help after they fled. The witnesses who reportedly saw Dennard running on the road that day went to the children’s home and notified staff.
What complicated matters was that children’s home officials not only misrepresented the timeline in this case, but they also erroneously claimed 911 was immediately called. Children’s Home Society executive director Bill Colson said Dennard vanished before noon and staff called 911 at 12:26. (The Children’s Home Society manages the facility Dennard was housed in.)
However, within two months of Dennard’s disappearance, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the state Department of Social Services concluded the children’s home violated protocol by waiting an hour and 41 minutes to call the police after Dennard ran away.
Further, Pennington County police spokesperson Helene Duhamel said that Dennard vanished around 10:45 a.m. and that police arrived at the children’s home at 1:16 p.m., roughly 20 minutes after the 911 call was placed.
Both agencies also noted that radios used by the children’s home were on three different frequencies the day Dennard disappeared, presumably hampering communication between staff.
KEVN reported in December that Black Hills Children’s Home will move from its remote location in Rockerville to the National American University building in Rapid City. Construction is slated to begin later this year and should be completed by early 2026.
Though Dennard was not mentioned by name, Rapid City Mayor Jason Salamun told KEVN that the move will allow for faster EMS and police response times.
Children’s Home Society chief executive officer Michelle Lavallee commented, “In terms of safety, we actually have a very, very safe place in Rockerville…[but] it’s pretty isolating out there.”
Anyone with information regarding Serenity Dennard’s whereabouts is asked to call the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office at 1-605-394-6115.
[Featured image: Serenity Dennard/Pennington County Sheriff’s Office]
