Katharina Buczek
Around 12:45 p.m., a deputy showed up on the scene, and within a half hour, four more deputies had arrived. Pennington County Search and Rescue was also called for additional assistance at 1:28 p.m.
This sparked what is likely the largest search effort ever conducted in South Dakota.
The children’s home was in a large, wooded area, and snowfall followed in the days after Serenity vanished. This heightened law enforcement’s concern as they searched for any sign of her.
According to Pennington County Captain Dustin Morrison, there have been 220 searches in the area with 66 agencies. Searchers scoured more than 5,000 miles; meanwhile, authorities interviewed over 500 people and followed up on over 357 leads, some of which were from foreign countries.
In January 2021, police announced that they were suspending the search for Serenity. However, her case remains open, and leads continue to come in.
“We do get leads, weekly or monthly. Some leads come in, or some possible sightings come in, and we do everything we can to jump on those right away to see if it’s legit or not,” Captain Morrison said.
There is reportedly no evidence suggesting Serenity was abducted. Nonetheless, the exact circumstances of her disappearance are unknown, and Captain Morrison hopes to find answers and provide closure.
“It weighs on people to this day. You put your heart and soul into trying to get the answers. And it’s all about, you know, we come to work every day. Let’s do the right thing. Let’s provide the answers to the family in this unfortunate situation,” he stated.
“And it still weighs on you. It’s on your mind on a daily basis or a weekly basis that we still haven’t been able to provide that closure, and we hope to do so in the future.”
Earlier this year, Serenity’s mother, Darcie Gentry, shared some of her daughter’s favorite things. Serenity enjoyed swimming and going on road trips and adored the movie ‘Frozen.’ She was also described as a “social butterfly.”
“It has been a mama’s worst nightmare to have Serenity gone. I would travel to the ends of the earth to pick her up and to see her again,” Darcie said.
