A Wisconsin teenager who went missing from her home at age 15 has been found safe, according to the Milwaukee Police Department. Joniah Walker, now 19, was located on May 25. The department has not disclosed where she was found or if she was accompanied by anyone else, citing privacy concerns.
Walker vanished without a trace on June 23, 2022, from her mother's Milwaukee home. Her mother, Tanesha Howard, last saw her daughter in her bedroom shortly before Walker was scheduled to meet her father to obtain a work permit for a summer job. Howard stated that her daughter's unresponsiveness to her father's phone call triggered immediate concern.
Neighboring surveillance footage captured Walker leaving the residence around 2:30 p.m. that day, carrying a large green camping backpack. Howard has consistently believed her daughter was lured away from their home. The backpack, which Howard had not seen before, reinforced this suspicion for her. She also noted that Walker had attempted to obscure her digital activity prior to her disappearance.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Walker reportedly struggled with school and had a history of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, according to Howard. Howard expressed frustration that authorities did not classify her daughter as 'critically missing' at the time. The disappearance of Walker was subsequently highlighted by Wisconsin State Representative Shelia Stubbs as part of a legislative effort to address the issue of missing and murdered African American women and girls. This initiative led to the creation of the Missing and Murdered African American Women and Girls (MMAAW) Task Force in Wisconsin and other states, aiming to ensure such cases receive adequate attention.
Rep. Stubbs had encouraged Howard to maintain hope, expressing her belief that Walker was still alive and that her recovery was a matter of time. The establishment of the MMAAW task force aims to provide a structured approach to investigating and preventing similar disappearances.