Mother of 4-year-old Ky. girl missing for more than a year arrested in Kansas, along with boyfriend

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The mother of a 4-year-old Kentucky girl who's been missing for more than a year was arrested in Kansas, along with her boyfriend.

According to Shelby County Sheriff's detectives, Catherine McKinney and Dakota Hill were booked into the Thomas County Sheriff's Office in Colby, Kansas, on Sunday.

"Yeah, it's pretty far from Louisville. Kentucky," said Capt. Blake Lisby with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office. "They were in a vehicle, just the two of them, as far as I know."

Lisby said the couple is charged with Custodial Interference.

Catherine's daughter, 4-year-old Serenity Ann McKinney, has not been seen since Christmas Eve of 2020, according to the Shelby County Sheriff's Office. Last week, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's office asked for the public's help to locate Serenity.

Catherine has not been cooperative with the missing person's investigation, according to the sheriff's office. "She refused to answer any of our questions and help us find the whereabouts of her daughter," said Capt. Lisby.

Brad Davis, Serenity's grandfather, said he was the one who filed the missing person's report with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office.

Serenity is described as a white 4-year-old with blond hair, blue eyes and a possible birth mark on her stomach.

Serenity Ann McKinney (Source: Shelby County Sheriff's Office)

Despite the arrests, neither family members nor police are giving up on finding Serenity.

"Still asking for any community support on any information on the whereabouts of Serenity and just any information that, you know, the community might think is the smallest piece of information," Lisby said. "We would still like to hear that and add to everything that we're working with now."

Nicole Dearmond-Cobble, who lived next door to the couple, said they told her they were homeless and the child was with a family member.

"They need to tell what they know and if anybody knows anything, they need to tell just like I have done," Dearmond-Cobble said. "That's what brought them here is my son was friends with Dakota for several years and found out that he lived in the car. And he's like, 'Oh man, I have an extra bedroom. Why don't you come stay with me, get yourself on your feet.' And we're told because of the living situation, she was living with grandma."

Anyone with any information about where Serenity might be is asked to contact the Shelby County Sheriff's Office at 501 Main St., Suite 8 in Shelbyville, Kentucky.

The phone number to reach the sheriff's office is 502-633-4324.

The phone number for Shelby County dispatchers is 502-633-2323.

Related Stories: