{"id":28801,"date":"2026-08-05T17:39:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T12:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=28801"},"modified":"2026-08-05T17:39:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T12:39:30","slug":"black-teen-joniah-walker-missing-for-4-years-found-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=28801","title":{"rendered":"Black Teen Joniah Walker, Missing For 4 Years, Found Alive"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"listicle-slide\" data-page-number=\"0\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/newsone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2026\/07\/17855102392692.png?w=1024&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"A young woman with long dark hair smiling while wearing a green puffy jacket.\" class=\"wp-image-6867927\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: National Center for Missing &amp; Exploited Children \/ National Center for Missing &amp; Exploited Children<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Black teenage girl who went missing four years ago while in <a href=\"https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/tag\/chicago\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"590362312\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chicago<\/a> has finally been found.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/teen-girl-kidnapped-chicago-found-alive-virginia-held-captive-4-years-rcna590105\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NBC News reports<\/a>\u00a0that Joniah Walker was kidnapped outside a Chicago movie theater on June 23, 2022. Walker, who\u2019s originally from Milwaukee, took an Uber to Chicago that was arranged by a man she had been speaking to online for multiple years. Walker was only 15-years-old at the time of her abduction. Police have identified the man who allegedly abducted her as 37-year-old Owen Anderson. Anderson was allegedly holding Walker captive in a small home in Blacksburg, Virginia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Authorities have alleged that Anderson turned off her cellphone and threw it away with a burner phone he used to contact her shortly after meeting her. Her parents immediately knew something was wrong when her phone kept going to voicemail. Walker\u2019s disappearance was well publicized throughout Milwaukee, and her parents were continually critical of Milwaukee law enforcement for the lack of efficiency in their investigation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>RELATED CONTENT: <a href=\"https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/1683135\/shani-coke-dead-jamaica\/\">\u2018She Never Got A Chance To Live\u2019 \u2014 Shani Coke, 10, Found Raped &amp; Dead, Sparking Outrage In Jamaica As Repeat Sex Offender Killed By Mob Seeking Jungle Justice<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"listicle-slide\" data-page-number=\"1\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The family was particularly critical of the fact that Milwaukee law enforcement apparently didn\u2019t follow up on a Ring camera video that was the last known footage of Joniah.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhy didn\u2019t the police go knock on people\u2019s doors? Like everybody on that block has a Ring camera. We got the videos, not the police,\u201d one relative told NBC. \u201cNo one interviewed me, no one sat me down. It was us versus the police stations with a glass between us,\u201d stated another.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Authorities said Anderson physically and sexually abused her over the last four years. Anderson faces charges in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsls.com\/video\/news\/2026\/07\/28\/blacksburg-man-facing-multiple-for-allegedly-kidnapping-holding-wisconsin-minor-captive-for-years\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">both Wisconsin and Virginia<\/a>. Virginia authorities have charged Anderson with abduction, strangulation, and child abuse, while Wisconsin authorities have charged him with kidnapping, child enticement, and abduction. He is currently being held at Western Virginia Regional Jail and will have a preliminary hearing on Aug 21.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Should Anderson be found guilty, I personally hope he is thrown beneath the jail, because this is one of the most disgusting acts a person can commit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"listicle-slide\" data-page-number=\"2\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Authorities have long held that Anderson was acting alone and Walker was not abducted by a human trafficking ring. \u201cI can assure you we have no reason to believe that she was involved in human trafficking,\u201d Milwaukee police officer Jamie Sromalla told an NBC affiliate in 2025. Milwaukee police still maintain that belief even though she was sexually abused while being held against her will.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are still very few details as to how authorities found Joniah Walker. Milwaukee law enforcement has refused to answer any questions about their investigation and why it took so long to find her. I\u2019m sure the story will only become more upsetting as more details are released, but I\u2019m very curious why it took four years to find her and how authorities eventually figured out that Anderson had her.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier this year, Joniah\u2019s sister, Mackenzie Thompson, said in an interview with WSLS that Joniah\u2019s story should be a warning for parents. \u201cParents need to really go through their kid\u2019s phones and devices because this should be an awakening for people,\u201d Thompson told the outlet.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While it\u2019s great news that Joniah Walker was found alive, there\u2019s no doubt that she will be traumatized by the experience in the years to come. We send our best wishes to Joniah and her family as they process this horrific incident.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>RELATED CONTENT: <a href=\"https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/1681982\/nolan-wells-mother-christine-wonsley-hate-mail\/\">\u2018Not Bold Enough To List Your Return Address\u2019 \u2014 Nolan Wells\u2019 Mother Claps Back At Hate Mail Mocking Ben Crump &amp; Al Sharpton<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Source: National Center for Missing &amp; Exploited Children \/ National Center for Missing &amp; Exploited Children A Black teenage girl who went missing four years ago while in Chicago has finally been found. NBC News reports\u00a0that Joniah Walker was kidnapped outside a Chicago movie theater on June 23, 2022. Walker, who\u2019s originally from Milwaukee, took&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/08\/17855102392692-e1785846507610.png?strip=all&quality=80&w=1198&crop=0,0,100,594px","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}