Missing Kent teen found

Update: Missing teen NiAni Rashaad has been found, the Kent Police Department reported Friday night. Officials said, “We know that this has been difficult for the family and we appreciate the support the community has shown.”

Law enforcement did not say where she was found.

Original story: NiAni Rashaad loves poetry, loves music, loves her grandmother. She even recorded a Mother’s Day poem.

“She’s got the sweetest heart. My name is NiAni, but I call her nanny-poo. And she loves coming to my house,” said grandmother LueRachelle Brim-Atkin.

NiAni was last seen Sunday at Russell Road and Meeker in Kent. Her family says surveillance video shows her walking from a gas station with snacks in hand after a trip to the movies.

“The cameras tracked her until she got inside the parking lot at the apartment complex. And the camera lost sight. I haven’t heard from her since,” Brim-Atkin said.

NiAni Rashaad is 5 feet 3 inches tall and scheduled to graduate from Kent Meridian High school in two weeks. NiAni can be shy, her grandmother says, because she has mild autism.

“I pray nobody took her — I pray for that.”

Earlier, police K-9 units worked the area, which includes the big Riverwood apartment complex next to the Green River. So far, nothing.

“When it just hits, it’s like — I just screaming, cry for her and tell her to come home.”

But Brim-Atkins channels her emotions into working to find her. She and other family members are planning a rally at Kent’s Hogan Park at 3 p.m. on Saturday to blanket the area with flyers.

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