Jay Senter
Jay Senter
Merriam
Less than 1 min. read

Merriam police ask for public’s assistance in locating runaway teens

Hightower, left, and Pecks.

Hightower, left, and Pecks.
Hightower, left, and Pecks.
Merriam police say they are still looking for two juveniles who were last seen at the House of Hope, a residential program for troubled teen girls, at around 6 p.m. Thursday.

Hannah Grace Hightower, 16, and Caitlin Nicole Pecks, 16, left the facility at 7044 Antioch Road and were observed running southbound from E. Frontage Road and 75th Street. Police say the two often go into businesses that have free wireless internet access. They are also known to travel to Independence and Kansas City, Mo., frequently. Police say they are particularly concerned about the girls’ safety with the coming inclement weather.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the two girls should call the Merriam detectives unit at 913-322-5588.

4 p.m. update: Merriam police report that the two girls were located today.

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About the author

Jay Senter
Jay Senter

Jay Senter is the founder and publisher of the Johnson County Post.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in business at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where he worked as a reporter and editor at The Badger Herald.

He went on to receive a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas. While he was in graduate school, he also worked as a reporter for the Lawrence Journal-World.

His reporting has appeared in the Kansas City Star, The Pitch and The New York Times, among other publications.

Senter was the recipient of the Johnson County Community College Headliner Award in 2023.

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