Joniah Walker of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is remembered as a shy yet highly intelligent teen. She enjoyed watching baking competition shows like “Cupcake Wars” and was reportedly an introvert who struggled with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and had a tough time making friends.
Yet, 15-year-old Joniah vanished on June 23, 2022, and in the wake of her disappearance, it was discovered that she’d been talking to strangers online.
Her mother, Tanesha Howard, kept a close eye on what Joniah did on the internet. Rules were put in place, and Joniah was forbidden from using certain apps. Nonetheless, she found ways around the rules, and now, Tanesha believes her daughter was lured online.
“I know she was coerced online to leave with people. I can’t say it was one person. I believe it was several people that got in her head,” she detailed.
Tanesha and Joniah had a very close relationship, and the last time the pair saw each other was on the morning of June 23, 2022.
It seemed like a regular Thursday. Joniah had finished school and was lying in bed. Tanesha went into her bedroom and gave her a hug before heading out to work.
After she left, Tanesha remained in contact with her daughter via phone, too. However, Joniah stopped responding in the afternoon, and Tanesha realized something was off.
Then, at 3:30 p.m., Joniah was supposed to meet her father outside of their apartment complex. He was going to take her to get a work permit so she could get a summer job, something they’d previously discussed. Joniah didn’t show.
“He called me and said that Joniah wasn’t picking up her phone. That is when I immediately knew something was wrong. I left work right away,” Tanesha recalled.
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Joniah was last seen on a neighbor’s Ring camera footage. She left her apartment complex at about 2:30 p.m., wearing her brother’s clothing and carrying a large green backpack.
Right after Joniah went missing, Tanesha got in touch with the Milwaukee Police Department. She claims authorities gave her pushback and thinks all police departments should have specialized missing persons units.
“When I was going to the police station, they kept telling me they didn’t have the time to prioritize Joniah’s case; there are other things going on,” Tanesha explained.
It was reportedly learned that the same afternoon, someone had used Joniah’s phone to call her therapist, and later that night, a message was sent to Joniah’s therapist from her phone, saying that she’d run away.
Joniah had never left home before, though, and according to Tanesha, it was uncharacteristic of her daughter to fall out of contact.
“Somebody stole her… that was my first instinct. But when I saw that she left with a big backpack that I had never seen, that’s when I knew. I was like, someone lured her away,” she said.
Leading up to Joniah’s disappearance, the teen had supposedly been getting packages from Amazon, the contents of which Tanesha was unaware of.
The police were ultimately able to get into Joniah’s phone, which revealed she’d figured out how to get online without her parents’ knowledge.
“We didn’t have a clue until it all happened that she was using the Wi-Fi to download apps or get online to talk with people. It could be on Roblox, Snapchat, things that parents would not think, where predators search for victims,” Tanesha shared.
Joniah has remained for over two years now, and Tanesha doesn’t think her daughter would’ve left on her own.
“She is my youngest daughter, so I always call her ‘baby girl’ because that is exactly who she is, my baby girl,” Tanesha stated.
“She is what I would describe as a perfect daughter. She is angelic, soft-spoken, and very intelligent.”
Tanesha has not given up the search for Joniah. She created a Facebook group entitled “Joniah Walker Missing – Help Us Find Her” to raise awareness about her daughter’s case.
She also supported a bipartisan bill to launch a Missing and Murdered African American Women and Girls Task Force that would investigate cases like Joniah’s in Wisconsin.
Tanesha hasn’t stopped physically looking, either. She’s knocked on doors, hung up missing persons flyers, and even traveled to Texas to look for Joniah. Unfortunately, no leads have surfaced.
“No matter what, I always look for her every moment I get. She is my daughter,” Tanesha explained.
Joniah was five foot one, weighed 100 pounds, and had black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing blue jeans, an olive green T-shirt with the Adidas logo on the front, and blue and white shoes.
Anyone with information regarding her case is urged to contact the Milwaukee Police Department at (414) 935-7405.