After weather delay, search resumes for South Dakota girl

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) – Recovery teams are resuming their search for a 9-year-old girl who ran away from a residential youth home in South Dakota amid frigid weather last weekend.

The search for Serenity Dennard had been stalled for two days because of a winter storm that hit the region. The girl went missing Sunday in subfreezing temperatures from the Black Hills Children’s Home near Rockerville.

The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office says if the girl was outside, it’s unlikely she survived because she wasn’t dressed for the weather. Authorities say their efforts are now focused on finding her body.

On Friday, searchers headed back outside with specially trained dogs to go over the territory near the children’s home. Additional dogs and handlers are expected to arrive from out-of-state for the weekend.

The home is operated by Children’s Home Society.

AP-WF-02-08-19 1413GMT