This story discusses human trafficking. If you or someone you know has been trafficked, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. You will be connected with a local provider offering confidential, free 24/7 support. Additional resources are available, here.
MILWAUKEE — On June 23, 2022, Tanesha Howard’s daughter, Joniah Walker, went missing.
The last video of Walker is from a neighbor's ring camera, and it shows her leaving her home with a full backpack.
Walker was 15 years old when she went missing. Two years later, her mother has not heard from her or seen her.
“It has been very difficult, not knowing where my daughter is, what happened to her, no leads,” said Howard.
According to the Clearinghouse for Missing and Exploited Children and Adults, there are currently 175 missing people in the state of Wisconsin.
The Milwaukee Police Department Crime Map shows there have been 21 human trafficking cases so far this year.
Some people, including Walker, have been missing for years; others have been missing for decades.
“I know she was coerced online to leave with people,” said Howard. “I can’t say it was one person. I believe it was several people that got in her head.”
Howard said as a parent she paid close attention to what her daughter was doing on the internet.
She made rules for her daughter and told her she was not allowed to use certain apps, but Howard said Walker found ways around that.
“We didn’t have a clue until it all happened that she was using the Wi-Fi to download apps or get online to talk with people,” said Howard. “It could be on Roblox, Snapchat, things that parents would not think, where predators search for victims.”
Howard said days before her daughter went missing, she was talking about a job she was getting at a bakery.
“She knew the time was coming where people were going to meet her, she knew,” said Howard.
Howard told her daughter she was too young to take a job without her permission and told her she would need to have papers signed before moving starting.
“I said you know this Thursday your dad is coming to get you to get your work permit, and she said, ‘Oh I don’t need that, I got a job at a bakery’ and I said, ‘Huh?” said Howard.
Immediately after Walker went missing, Howard contacted the Milwaukee Police Department.
“When I was going to the police station, they kept telling me they didn’t have the time to prioritize Joniah’s case, there are other things going on,” said Howard.
Howard said she believes every police department needs a specialized missing persons unit.
Rep. Sheila Stubbs has heard Howard’s story and is working to create a Missing and Murdered African American Women and Girls Task Force that would spend time looking for people like Howard’s daughter.
“What I am saying is we must in the state of Wisconsin prioritize missing persons, whether they are Black, white, boys, girls, they are people,” said Stubbs.
The legislation was first introduced in 2021 but has gotten little traction in the GOP legislature.
The proposed task force would cost $30,000 and be run by the Department of Justice.
“Despite this bill unanimously passing the committee in both houses in the Legislature and passing the Assembly floor this session, this bill has yet to be given a floor date in the Senate,” said Stubbs during a news conference on May 16.
Howard said one of the reasons the Milwaukee Police Department gave her when she asked about the investigation into her missing daughter was a lack of resources.
Stubbs said this task force would solve that problem.
“I know this task force would be able to address resources,” said Stubbs. “If you care for law enforcement, you have to care about them having the resources if there’s a missing person.”
Howard said she has hung missing persons flyers, knocked on doors and even flown to Texas in search of her daughter but she said there have been no leads.
“Right now, I am just living on faith that God is working with her and protecting her and eventually will lead her back to where I am at,” said Howard.
If you have any information on Joniah Walker, you can contact the Milwaukee Police Department at 414-935-7405 or 414-933-4444 or by email at MPDmissing@milwaukee.gov.