A Kentucky mom and her boyfriend were nabbed in Kansas last week more than one year after her 4-year-old daughter Serenity Ann McKinney went missing.
The grandparents of the little girl went to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, which is located about 30 miles east of Louisville, and reported that the child may be in danger on Jan. 31, Capt. Kyle Tipton told Fox New Digital.
The grandparents, who last saw the child and her mother on Christmas Eve in 2020, asked law enforcement to make a wellness check.
Tipton said they promptly put the child in a national database for missing persons, and Kansas authorities were able to locate the mother and her boyfriend, Dakota Hill.
McKinney and Hill, both in their 20s, were presented with a Kentucky court summons ordering them to hand over Serenity, but they didn’t cooperate, Tipton said.
A judge issued a warrant for their arrest for felony custodial interference, and Kansas officials took them into custody on Sunday.
“We are continuously getting tips, and we’re investigating all leads,” Tipton said. “We’re investing a lot of man-hours day and night, and we’re very optimistic for a peaceful resolution.”
McKinney and Hill, who is not the child’s biological father, are being held at the Thomas County Jail in Colby, Kansas, awaiting extradition to Kentucky.
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office is working on the case with the Kentucky attorney general, Kentucky State Police and the U.S. Secret Service, officials said.
