Joniah Walker found safe, Milwaukee girl went missing in 2022
Joniah Walker
MILWAUKEE - Joniah Walker, a Milwaukee girl who had been missing since 2022, has been found safe roughly four years later, police confirmed.
The backstory:
Surveillance video showed Walker walking near Buffum and Reservoir – a few blocks from where she lived with her mother – on June 23, 2022. Now an adult, Walker was 15 years old when she disappeared.
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FOX6 News asked the Milwaukee Police Department when and where Walker was found but did not hear back.
Years-long investigation
What they're saying:
FOX6 News spoke to MPD Investigator Jamie Sromalla, who oversees missing persons cases, as part of a profile on Walker's disappearance during Black History Month.
At that time, Walker was one of 36 long-term missing persons cases. Police said Walker was not classified as a critical missing person, a designation that can affect how resources are deployed.
Disappearance of Joniah Walker; Milwaukee teen missing nearly 4 years
Joniah Walker remains missing nearly four years after disappearing from Milwaukee at age 15, with her family still seeking answers.
Legislative push
The backstory:
Since 2021, State Rep. Shelia Stubbs has been pushing to pass a bill to create the Missing and Murdered African American Women and Girls Task Force. Walker, along with Sade Robinson and LaSheaky Hill, were the faces of that effort's latest push last summer.
The task force would be made up of police, survivors, attorneys, and victims' rights experts. It would look into what leads to violence against these people, and the task force would have to give recommendations on how to stop it. The Wisconsin State Assembly passed her bill in 2024, but it stalled in the Senate.
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Signs displayed inside the Wisconsin Capitol shed light on alarming statistics from The Guardian: Wisconsin ranked No. 1 in the nation for the highest rate of homicide among Black women and girls in 2020.
Columbia researchers found Black women in Wisconsin between 2019 and 2020 were 20 times more likely to be murdered than white women. The researchers said that was the worst disparity in the country.
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The Source: The Milwaukee Police Department confirmed Walker was found safe. Additional details are from prior FOX6 coverage.