Serenity Dennard

Nine-year-old Serenity Dennard was last seen on February 3, 2019 in Rapid City, South Dakota.

She was at the Black Hills Children's Home, which is a treatment center for kids with behavioral and emotional problems. Serenity was playing in the gym at the center with three other kids under the supervision of two staff members. One of the staff members was left behind with Serenity and the other kids while the other staff member followed after a kid who ran out of the gym.

Serenity also ran out of the gym, but the staff member supervising her stayed behind instead and called for help because it was against the rules to leave the children unsupervised. A visitor who arrived at the home at 11:00 a.m. saw her walking northbound on South Rockerville Road near the cattle guard in front of the home.

The center's staff searched for Serenity themselves, but it wasn't until 12:26 p.m. that they reported her missing to the police. There were various searches of the area, but she was nowhere to be found.

Serenity was staying at the Black Hills Children's Home due to behavioral issues caused by her early childhood experiences while in foster care. Her adoptive father, Chad Dennard and her adoptive stepmother, KaSandra Dennard sent her to the center in July of 2018 because they felt that it wasn't safe for her to live with them at home; they saw her four or five times a month and she was allowed to call them twice a week.

The day before her disappearance, Chad visited Serenity at the center and said that she seemed to be doing well. He also stated that she had a history of threatening to run away and hiding from the staff; she once ran away while playing outside, but the staff was able to catch her.

Serenity remains missing and her case is classified as an endangered missing person.