Police Consider Missing Girl ‘Endangered’

SPOKANE — The mother of a missing 14-year-old girl says her adopted daughter’s obsession with making phone calls may have gotten her into trouble with strangers.

Vanessa Kaleikini says Noel is developmentally disabled and functions at the level of an 8-year-old, something easily exploited by strangers.

Kaleikini says she and Noel went to the North Spokane Wal-Mart Monday night with one of her sons at Noel’s request. Once at the store Noel begged her mother to go to the electronics department and Kaleikini says she let Noel go under the supervision of her brother.

When the mother of six returned to the electronics department though, her son said Noel was gone.

“He said she was looking at CDs. He said she was there and then she was gone,” Kaleikini said.

Surveillance video shows Noel alone outside of Wal-Mart and then walking back toward the WinCo grocery store. According to Kaleikini the video does not show Noel with anyone else or her getting into a car, but she believes otherwise.

“Of course I think she’s in danger. She’s with someone. I just don’t know who she’s with,” Kaleikini said.

Noel’s mother is worried for her safety and believes her daughter’s obsession with calling people got her into trouble. Kaleikini says that Noel is known to make thousands of calls and a couple of calls that showed up on a recent phone bill raised a red flag.  

Kaleikini says Noel began calling a man in Florida named ‘Jeremy,” a man she believed was just 16-years-old and called ‘sexy baby.’ Kaleikini called the number and told him to leave her daughter alone.

But the calls didn’t stop there because other out-of-state numbers showed up on the cell phone bill. Kaleikini says her daughter has no filter for knowing how much is too much contact. She says noel is very gullible and becomes obsessed easily.

“You can talk to Noel, you can discuss things, you can talk until you’re blue in the face, but she’s still going to do what she wants,” Kaleikini said.

Spokane police believe Kaleikini’s disappearance does not match her character and they are considering her to be endangered. With the endangered status, they have assigned a major crimes detective to her case.

Meantime, Kaleikini is receiving support and help from friends and neighbors. She requested police issue and Amber Alert, but police cannot issue and Amber Alert unless they believe she is in a car being driven away.

If you have any information about Noel’s whereabouts you’re asked to call 911 or Crime Check at 456-2233.