The mother of a missing Kentucky girl was reportedly spotted with two black eyes months after her daughter was last seen.
Catherine McKinney and her boyfriend, Dakota Hill, were arrested in Thomas County on a custodial interference charge issued in Shelby County. There was reportedly no sign of the woman’s daughter, Serenity McKinney, 4, at the time of their arrest on Sunday.
Serenity McKinney was reportedly last seen on Christmas Eve of 2020. Keahna Paige Green told The Sun that Catherine McKinney and Hill lived with her from July to September 2021, and the 4-year-old was not with them.
According to Green, Catherine McKinney and Hill were homeless and asked to stay at her Kentucky home. Green reportedly knew Hill from playing Xbox.
“When they came in, I saw she had two black eyes and a swollen face. I thought he did something to her, but she was adamant that Dakota [Hill] didn’t do anything,” Green told The Sun.
Around the same time, Catherine McKinney reportedly blocked all of her family on social media and got a new phone number which she did not give to anyone.
Green claimed that Hill followed them any time she and Catherine McKinney tried to talk alone. Green told The Sun that she and her boyfriend kicked them out in September 2021, after witnessing Hill scream and curse at Catherine McKinney.
Green said she believes Hill did not know she was at home when the altercation occurred.
“It shook me to my core. He was so mean and said horrible things to her. But then he went back to this mild-mannered, polite man,” Green recalled.
“But it was all a facade. He put on this sweet guy act and never said it was his fault or he was having a bad day.”
The missing girl’s grandfather recently filed a missing persons report in Shelby County after not seeing her for an extended period of time, as CrimeOnline previously reported. According to The Sun, Catherine McKinney and Hill are believed to have left the state after a warrant was issued for their arrest.
Police said the couple is not cooperating with the ongoing search for Serenity McKinney.
Shelby County police said they are also unsure of Serenity McKinney’s last whereabouts, but they believe she was in the area of Shelby, Jefferson, or Bullitt counties. Police Captain Blake Lisby said they suspect she is in danger “based on the timeframe on how long it’s been since she’s been seen and nobody can seem to produce her whereabouts.”
Lisby also alleged that Serenity McKinney’s mother has refused to reveal where her daughter is.
Serenity McKinney has blue eyes, blonde hair, and possibly has a birthmark on her stomach, according to police.
Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is asked to call the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office at 502-633-4324 or 502-633-2323.
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[Featured image: Serenity McKinney/Shelby County Sheriff’s Office; Catherine McKinney/Thomas County Sheriff’s Office]
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