Missing 18-year-old found after five-day search
Breaking update:
Kent Police said Friday night that a missing woman with autism was found safe after a five-day search.
Police said around 9:45 p.m. that detectives found NiAni Rashaad:
"We are happy to inform the community that through the work of the Kent Police Department and Kent Detectives, NiAni Rashaad has been located. We know that this has been difficult for the family and we appreciate the support the community has shown."
Previous story:
Kent Police are asking for the public's help in locating a missing young adult with autism.
According to police, NiAni Rashaad was last seen on Monday, May 31 around 7 p.m. at the Riverwood Apartments on Russell Road South in Kent.
She is a young adult with autism and needs her medication, police and family say.
"My daughter is missing and I love her. She has a strong family who is behind her 100%, all over the world. We miss her joy, her laughter, her creativity. She is special and one of a kind, and she deserves to come home. She deserves to be with us. She deserves to grow and continue to love each person she encounters because she is special. She loves from the bottoms of her toes to the tips of her head. And she's not with us," her mother said during a press conference on Thursday.
Rashaad is a Black female and is 5'2" and weighs 125 pounds. She has brown hair, brown eyes and was last seen wearing a brown striped sweater, black tank top, camouflage shorts and was wearing a short curly wig. She has naturally short brown hair.
She may have also been wearing a holographic fanny pack.
Puget Sound Fire deployed a riverboat on Thursday afternoon and are carefully monitoring all channels while continuing the search. Her information has been entered into state and national databases listing her as missing.
If you've seen her, call 911 or the Kent Police Tipline at 253-856-5808. If you have surveillance video near the apartment complex or along Russell Road, contact police as well.
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