Mother Arrested As Search Continues For 4-Year-Old Kentucky Girl Who's Been Missing For More Than A Year

The mother of a 4-year-old Kentucky girl missing since Christmas Eve of 2020 has been arrested, authorities say.

Serenity Ann McKinney was last seen by family members on Dec. 24, 2020. The child’s mother, Catherine "Abby" McKinney, was taken into custody, along with her boyfriend Dakota Hill, on Sunday, according to the local news outlet WDRB.

Authorities say the couple has been unwilling to cooperate.

“She refused to answer any of our questions and help us find the whereabouts of her daughter,” Captain Blake Lisby with Shelby County Sheriff’s Office told WDRB.

Lisby told the news station that both the mother and her boyfriend were located in Colby, Kansas — several hundred miles away from Shelby County. Serenity did not appear to be there with them. The couple was booked into the Thomas County Sheriff’s Office and charged with custodial interference, reports WHAS11. 

Kentucky authorities announced that Serenity’s grandparents had reached out to Shelby County law enforcement with concerns about the child’s safety after her mother was reported missing.

Authorities are asking for the public’s help in locating the missing girl, even if it’s relaying “the smallest piece of information," Lisby said, according to WDRB.

"We would still like to hear that and add to everything that we're working with now," Lisby said.

Serenity is described to have blonde hair, blue eyes and with a possible birth mark on her stomach. The Attorney General’s Special Victims Unit is investigating the case alongside Shelby County and Bullitt County Sheriff’s Offices, State Police and the U.S. Secret Service, according to WHAS11.

If you have any information on Serenity’s whereabouts, contact the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office at 502-633-4324.