Kokomo Police Renew Search for Missing 16-Year-Old Nevaeh McKinney

Kokomo police are asking the public for help finding 16-year-old Nevaeh E. McKinney, who was reported as a juvenile runaway on May 30 and still has not been located nearly three months later. The Kokomo Police Department has assigned the case number KPD-26-02360 and is directing tips to Detective Sgt. Drew J. Wallsmith, officer number 389.

The department's request for public assistance was posted to Facebook by the Howard County Sheriff's Office on Sunday. Anyone with information can call Wallsmith directly at 765-456-7388, email him at [email protected], or reach the Howard County Communications Center at 765-457-1105. Tips can also go to the department's hotline at 765-456-7017, be submitted anonymously through the Kokomo PD mobile app, or be texted by starting a message with the word TIPKPD followed by a space and the tip, sent to 847411. The mobile app is available for download in the iOS and Google Play stores.

Nearly Two Months Before the Public Alert Went Wide

McKinney's case had already drawn regional attention before this weekend's post. According to WTHR, Kokomo police issued a public search request and photo for McKinney in late July, nearly two months after her May 30 disappearance, though the station did not specify what prompted the broader alert at that time. Relatives have also been sharing missing-person notices on social media, and some of those posts have asked that tips be sent not only to Kokomo police but also to Shield of Security Private Investigations, suggesting the family sought private investigative help alongside the municipal search.

McKinney's case is not the only juvenile runaway report Kokomo police have publicized this summer. The station also reported that police asked for help locating 17-year-old Tyler Jenkins in July, a runaway who had been missing from the 600 block of South Main Street since mid-June. The overlapping cases point to a department managing more than one open juvenile disappearance at the same time.

How Missing Minor Cases Move Through Indiana's System

Under Indiana Code 10-13-5, established by the state legislature in 2009, the Indiana Clearinghouse for Information on Missing Children, Missing Veterans at Risk, and Missing Endangered Adults serves as the central state repository within the Indiana State Police for collecting and sharing missing minor records, according to the agency's own guidance published on IN.gov. State policy from the Indiana Department of Child Services and Indiana State Police also requires local departments to enter missing child and runaway reports into the National Crime Information Center database and the Indiana Data and Communication System, allowing out-of-state and regional agencies to flag a missing youth during traffic stops or other field encounters.

Nationally, runaway reports make up the overwhelming majority of missing child cases. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children supported 32,167 missing children cases in 2025, with endangered runaways accounting for 92% of all reported incidents, per the organization's published data. NCMEC's 2025 statistics also found that roughly 1 in 7 runaway children reported to the organization were likely victims of child sex trafficking, underscoring why long-term runaway cases are treated as high-risk by law enforcement.

Kokomo, the Howard County seat, had an estimated population of 59,604 residents as of the 2024 American Community Survey, with youth under 18 making up 24% of that total, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Howard County as a whole had an estimated 13,844 school-aged children in 2025, per the Indiana Business Research Center. Families or youth seeking help outside law enforcement channels can also reach the National Runaway Safeline, a federally supported 24/7 crisis line at 1-800-RUNAWAY that offers confidential intervention and transportation assistance.

Kokomo police have handled a string of high-profile cases in recent months, including a kidnapping arrest tied to a missing toddler search covered by Hoodline in April. For now, McKinney remains missing, and investigators say anyone with information should come forward through any of the listed contact methods.