Missing Nevada Teen Leads To Desert Search, Lots of Concern

Posted on: January 4, 2025, 09:04h. 

Last updated on: January 4, 2025, 09:04h.

Volunteers and police officers continue to search the desert near Las Vegas this weekend for a Henderson, Nev. teenager who left home after a family dispute and could be without food or water.

Jennaleah Hin, also known as “Jenna,” 17, ran away from her family’s residence on Monday and hasn’t been seen since.

Dog Picked Up Her Scent

A tracking dog at one point picked up her scent by the desert near the Paradise Hills neighborhood, officials said. Searchers are concerned given that she could be at risk for dehydration if she’s in the wilderness for an extended period.

So far, the dog was unable to regain her scent. A witness believed to have seen the girl heading into the desert, too.

There were some possible sightings of the missing teen in other locations in the region, but as of early Saturday she remains missing.

In addition to the dogs, the search is aided by helicopters, drones, and searchers on horses, motorcycles, and off-road vehicles.

The concentrated search area is about 10 miles. It’s in the area of the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area, a wilderness site of over 48,000 acres.

Police have reached out to her boyfriend and other friends. But they were unable to locate her.

Several police departments, agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, school police officers, and the regional volunteer organization, Red Rock Search and Rescue, are among those involved in the search. Some high school classmates and adults from the region have volunteered, too.

She was distraught when she left,” said Mark Speer, Red Rock Search and Rescue’s commander, adding she left home on Monday. “So, every day it gets more critical… Every day is more critical than the prior day.”

Survivability becomes more difficult if someone is without food and water, especially after 72 hours, Speer explained.

Hin left her home without a cell phone, supplies, credit cards, or money, officials said. She apparently had no food or water with her.

Normal Family Dispute

Police haven’t detailed what the disagreement was over.

It’s just a normal family dispute, you know, that teenagers have with their parents,” Speer told reporters. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

He described the missing teen as “exemplary in every way. Never had any problems with mom and dad. No issues with running away or with law enforcement in her history.”

She’s a straight-A student at Foothill High School in Henderson and plans to attend nursing school in the fall, according to Las Vegas TV station KSNV.

Her parents are devastated and immediately began to search for their daughter once they realized she was missing.

“I love you. We just want you back. Our home is broken without you and we need you, so please come back,” Hin’s stepfather, Corey Swanson, said during a recent press conference.

Her mother, Jennifer Swanson, sobbed as she said, “Jenna wherever you are, whoever you’re with, I just want you to come home. I want you safe. We love you so much.”

She’s described as 5 feet, 5 inches tall, weighs about 163 pounds, and has black, waist-length hair. She left home at about 7 p.m. Monday wearing a black, Under Armour hoodie sweatshirt, baggy black sweatpants, and black and white Nike shoes, according to an image captured on a home surveillance camera.