For the last five years, Karena McClerkin’s family has been working to understand what may have happened to her the night she was last seen at a Kokomo, Indiana residence, on October 11, 2016.
On Monday, the Kokomo Police announced a local man had been arrested in connection with her murder.
57-year-old Flint Vincent Farmer was taken into custody at his home on one count of murder, according to the Kokomo Police Department.
The Kokomo Police Department’s investigation into McClerkin’s disappearance began on October 13, 2016, two days after she was first reported missing.
Gerry McClerkin, Karena’s grandmother, opened up about her case to NBC’s Dateline in 2017.
She said the two were close, holding hands whenever she dropped her off. But Karena had reportedly been seeking help for a number of substance abuse issues before she went missing, filling out paperwork to go to a rehab facility in Florida and working to improve her life.
The teenager disappeared before she got a chance to do that.
Gerry told Dateline she heard rumors her granddaughter had been killed and put in a tarp, buried in a wooded area, or thrown into a waterway.
Over the years, she has lost faith her granddaughter might still be alive.
“It’s just a horrible mess, and the things you hear just make you sick,” Gerry said. “I didn’t want to believe she was dead. It took me awhile to accept that idea.”
Until at least October 2019, WTHR’s Jalea Brooks reported the McClerkin family was still having problems bringing attention to the case.
Investigators said they received new information in the fall of 2021 that shed light on what may have happened the day Karena went missing.
Kokomo police said they coordinated with Indiana State Police “and other resources” before presenting this new information to the Howard County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
Police would not say what information they received that led to Farmer’s arrest, but said additional arrests in this case may be forthcoming.
Karena McClerkin is described as 5-feet, 4-inches tall, weighing 130 lbs. with black, curly hair and brown eyes. She has a tattoo on her right forearm.
Anyone with information regarding her case is urged to contact the Kokomo Police Department at 765-457-1105.
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