Milwaukee police said Sept. 4 that they located 17-year-old Zyterria McKinney-Noblin and that she was safe. She was last seen around 7 p.m. Thursday walking west toward North 26th Street and West Port Sunlight Way on the city's North Side. She is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighing around 180 pounds, and wears braces. At the time she disappeared, she was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, gray pants, a white t-shirt reading “Just Do It” in red lettering, and cream-colored Nike tennis shoes.
The Milwaukee Police Department classified McKinney-Noblin as critically missing, according to WISN Channel 12 Milwaukee. The designation identifies her case as critically missing.
Anyone with information about McKinney-Noblin's whereabouts is asked to contact Milwaukee Police Department District 5 at 414-935-7251.
A Street Named for an English Company Town
The last sighting places McKinney-Noblin walking near Port Sunlight Way, a Milwaukee street.
Federal and State Rules Shape the Search
Wisconsin's AMBER Alert criteria include an abduction and imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury. For cases that fall short of AMBER Alert thresholds, Wisconsin's Missing Child Alert system can provide wireless emergency alerts and dynamic road signs for missing minors, under changes made by 2023 Wisconsin Act 272. The law was named after Prince McCree, a 5-year-old who went missing in Milwaukee in 2023.
Under the National Child Search Assistance Act, law enforcement agencies are barred from imposing any waiting period before taking a missing child report and entering it into the FBI's National Crime Information Center database.
A Prior Disappearance and a Seasonal Pattern
Records from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children show McKinney-Noblin was previously reported missing on June 23, 2026, from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin — meaning this is not the first time she has been the subject of a missing person report this year. It remains unknown whether investigators believe her prior disappearance is connected to Thursday's case or whether she has other ties to Fond du Lac.
Milwaukee police reported in June that the city typically sees a 20% to 50% increase in critically missing person reports during summer months, driven by increased outdoor activity and seasonal wandering, according to FOX6 News Milwaukee. That seasonal strain has coincided with a string of open juvenile cases across the city this summer, including Hoodline's coverage of missing teens Khloe Johnson and 10-year-old Jalynn Lacefield, as well as a case involving a missing teen mother and infant. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a missing-children project covering Wisconsin. Whether investigators suspect foul play in McKinney-Noblin's case, or have requested a broader statewide alert, has not been disclosed.
