McKenna Wendel

McKenna left her grandparents' home on March 13, 2026, and was last seen alive in Sioux Falls early on March 14. Her grandparents reported her missing on the morning of March 15. Sioux Falls police searched in Brookings County, South Dakota, Rock County, Minnesota, and Lyon County, Iowa. Her body was found just after 9 a.m. on March 19, 2026, in rural Brookings County, about an hour north of Sioux Falls. South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley was at the scene.

Her obituary and the federal indictment both give March 14, 2026, as the day she died. She was 14. A later federal complaint said law enforcement believes she died of a cocaine overdose in northern Iowa. Official autopsy findings have not been released.

A wake and visitation were held at Heritage Funeral Home on March 25, 2026, with prayer songs by the Wakiyan Sapa Singers. Her funeral took place at the Church of the Good Shepherd on March 26, 2026, followed by a police-escorted procession to her burial in Sioux Falls.

McKenna Rose Wendel was born on January 30, 2012, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Marisa Wendel. She was raised in Sioux Falls by her grandparents, Ralph and Rose Wendel, who were her primary caregivers. Her family called their home a home base for all the kids and grandkids, a house filled with family, laughter and love.

She was an outdoors child. Her obituary describes her climbing trees, playing in the park, riding her bike, digging in the dirt looking for critters and catching tadpoles to bring home as pets. She lobbied her grandma for lizards and frogs, and the family eventually settled on two hermit crabs and a sheepadoodle named Iris. When the hermit crabs died she gave them a funeral, and her Papa made a cross for their grave.

McKenna attended school in Sioux Falls, where she joined the Native American club and met her best friend, Aaliyah Brandis, in fourth grade. In 2026 she was an eighth grader at George McGovern Middle School, where she kept a cricket habitat inside her locker. Entering junior high she played volleyball and basketball. Her teacher, Brigid Berger, remembered her at her funeral as a cheerful and social student who made the people around her feel special and seen. After her death the Sioux Falls School Board held a moment of silence in her memory.

McKenna was a devoted big sister to Kinsley and Roman, and her obituary says her siblings cherished every moment spent with her. She made friends easily. With Aaliyah she loved sleepovers, making dance videos, listening to music and watching the sunset. Aaliyah told Dakota News Now that McKenna understood her problems faster than other people and was "really, really funny," and that the two talked about jobs, buying their first car and living in Seattle or New York one day. Her favorite colors were pink and purple.

McKenna and her grandparents were members of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (Sicangu Lakota Oyate). They often went to powwows together, and she loved the singing and the beautiful sound of the drums. Her family helped her develop a deep pride in her Native American heritage. In 2024 she rode on a truck in the Sioux Falls Native American Day parade. Her family's obituary speaks of her being called home to heaven, and her funeral was held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Sioux Falls, with a traditional Lakota star quilt draped over her casket.

McKenna's disappearance became one of the most closely followed cases in South Dakota in 2026. A Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) vigil in her honor was held at Van Eps Park in Sioux Falls on March 25, 2026, and her name was raised at later MMIP remembrance gatherings, including one in Pierre. A Facebook group called Justice for McKenna Wendel drew thousands of members.

Her death also fed a statewide debate about parole and clemency. On April 7, 2026, Governor Larry Rhoden announced a Smarter Supervision Initiative to reform parole, followed weeks later by additional measures including more parole agents, swifter sanctions for drug use and an enhanced compliance unit. Sioux Falls police also urged the public to avoid spreading speculation online, saying it hurts victims and their families.

On June 17, 2026, a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Iowa indicted McKenna's uncle, Mark Milk, of Sioux Falls, on federal felony counts including distributing cocaine that resulted in her death, giving her THC, transporting a minor across state lines for criminal sexual activity and concealing evidence. Charges were announced at a press conference in Sioux City, Iowa, on June 18. Milk had been sentenced to life in prison in 1994 for manslaughter in a 1993 killing in Winner. Then-Governor Kristi Noem commuted that sentence in February 2023 after a unanimous recommendation from the Board of Pardons and Paroles, and he was paroled in 2024. He had been in jail since March 17, 2026, on separate drunk driving and eluding charges. Milk pleaded not guilty on July 27, 2026, and his federal trial is scheduled to begin on December 28, 2026, in Sioux City.

Jon Rogness, 38, of Brookings, was charged with helping conceal evidence. He pleaded guilty on August 19, 2026, to conspiracy to conceal objects and accessory after the fact, and the court accepted the plea on September 3. On October 5, 2026, prosecutors unsealed a complaint charging a third man, Kevin Chapman, 48, of Sioux Falls, with conspiracy to distribute cocaine resulting in death, alleging he sold Milk the cocaine. Milk and Chapman are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

McKenna's story was covered by KELOLAND News, Dakota News Now (KSFY), KTIV, the Argus Leader, USA Today, CBS News and the Associated Press, South Dakota Searchlight, Sioux Falls Live and The Dakota Scout. In June 2026 Dakota News Now aired an interview with her best friend, Aaliyah Brandis, arranged by McKenna's mother, focused on the personal side of her life. Her funeral was livestreamed by the Church of the Good Shepherd.