Woman found dead in Henderson believed to be missing teen, police say
A body authorities believe belongs to a teenage girl who went missing last week was found Sunday morning, according to the Henderson Police Department.
A woman matching the description of Jennaleah “Jenna” Hin, 17, was found in the desert area east of Desert Sunflower Circle and Spanish Needle Street, police said.
The discovery came two days after her parents, Red Rock Search & Rescue and police had held a press conference on Friday asking for help in finding Hin, who had been missing ever since leaving home on Monday evening after a family dispute.
“Jenna, wherever you are or whoever you’re with, I just want you to come home,” Hin’s mother, Jennifer Swanson, said Friday. “I want you safe. We love you so much — please come home.”
Hin, a straight-A senior at Foothill High School, had never run away from home before and had no history with law enforcement, Henderson police Lt. Charles Hedrick said on Friday.
“I just want to say, ‘I love you, and we just want you back,’” Hin’s stepfather Corey Swanson said. “Our home is broken without you.”
Dozens of law enforcement officers from across the Las Vegas Valley and volunteer crews mobilized a large-scale, 10-mile search area in the wilderness throughout the weekend.
On her way out of the home, Hin said something to the effect of: “You don’t have to worry about me anymore,” according to Mark Speer, a commander with Red Rock Search & Rescue. Home surveillance footage caught the teen leaving the home without any backpack or water.
A police K-9 picked up Hin’s scent going south from the boundaries of the valley on Thursday, police said.
Police did not provide any further information about the circumstances of her death, but did say that there were no signs of foul play. The official name and cause of death will be released by the Clark County coroner’s office.
The family declined to speak Sunday. No memorial has been planned yet.
Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ktfutts on X and @katiefutterman.bsky.social. Review-Journal staff writer Alan Halaly contributed to this report.
