Joniah Walker, a Wisconsin teenager who disappeared from her Milwaukee home four years ago, has been found safe, police confirmed on Tuesday, June 30. The Milwaukee Police Department reported that Walker, now 19, was safely located on May 25, but declined to provide further details about where she was found or whether she was with anyone else.
Disappearance in 2022
Walker was 15 years old when she went missing on June 23, 2022, from her home in Milwaukee. Her mother, Tanesha Howard, told the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children that she last saw her daughter lying in bed before leaving for work that morning. “Joniah was lying in bed because she had just finished school. I went in to give her a hug before leaving for work,” Howard said.
The mother and daughter spoke on the phone several times throughout the day before Walker suddenly stopped responding. Walker was scheduled to meet her father to apply for a summer work permit but never arrived. “He called me and said that Joniah wasn’t picking up her phone,” Howard recalled. “That is when I immediately knew something was wrong. I left work right away.”
Last Sighting and Investigation
A nearby Ring camera captured Walker leaving her apartment complex in the Brewer’s Hill neighborhood, about a mile and a half north of downtown Milwaukee, at around 2:30 p.m. on the day of her disappearance. The footage showed her carrying a large green backpack she had never been seen with before. This was the last known sighting of Walker until her recovery last month.
Howard believed her daughter had been lured by someone she met online. “Somebody stole her…that was my first instinct,” Howard said. “But when I saw that she left with a big backpack that I had never seen, that’s when I knew. I was like, someone lured her away.” Police have not disclosed any information about a suspect or whether an investigation is ongoing.
Impact and Community Response
The discovery of Walker safe has brought relief to her family and the Milwaukee community. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which had been involved in the case, has not released additional comments. The Milwaukee Police Department has urged anyone with information to come forward, but no further updates have been provided.
