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Family of missing central Indiana teen frustrated year later

Relatives of a central Indiana teenager who's been missing for a year are frustrated with a lack of answers about her disappearance.
Karena McClerkin (Photo: Gerry McClerkin via NBC News)

KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) - Relatives of a central Indiana teenager who's been missing for a year are frustrated with a lack of answers about her disappearance.

Karena McClerkin was 18 years old when she was last seen Oct. 11, 2016, walking along a busy street south of Kokomo's downtown area.

Gerry McClerkin tells the Kokomo Tribune that the family has received little information from city police about her granddaughter's case and wishes for more community support in trying to find her.

McClerkin says she's convinced her granddaughter is dead and is at "wit's end" on where else to look after numerous searches over the past year.

"We don’t know where to look. We don’t know where to go," she told the Kokomo Tribune.

McClerkin says she's frustrated not only by the lack of information shared with her by the Kokomo Police Department, but also by the community not coming together to help find her granddaughter.

"I am ashamed of Kokomo, Indiana, for not stepping up to help find this child," Gerry said. "She has a right to be found. I don't care what color she is or what she was doing. She is a human being and she has the right to be found."

Kokomo police Capt. Tonda Cockrell says the disappearance remains an active investigation and urged anyone with information to contact the department.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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