Aaliyah Johnson
Twelve-year-old Aaliyah Johnson lived in Kensington, Pennsylvania with her mother, Sharaunmyesha Johnson. She is mentally-challenged.
The young girl's father, Donald Bradshaw did not live with them. On May 15, 2005, Aaliyah disappeared. She was last seen sitting on the front steps of her Albert Street home.
Local law enforcement authorities questioned Aaliyah's family, friends and neighbors. An Amber Alert was not issued for the missing child. She had called some school friends the day after her disappearance, which prompted authorities to believe, at that time,
that no foul play was involved. It was speculated that Aaliyah was a runaway. A police spokesperson, Corporal Jim Pauley, commented that, "A lot of kids out there are running away from home and are
reported missing to police and we've got to find them."
Detectives Romanita King and Linda Hughes were assigned the missing child's case. Both were experienced and competent officers who
specialize in missing persons cases. Fliers and posters were distributed throughout the city and surrounding areas and all leads were quickly followed.
Mrs. Johnson remained extremely distraught over her daughter being missing. Donald Bradshaw did what he could to comfort the upset mother, but efforts to calm her down were futile. "She was crying and saying nobody's helping," said Bradshaw. The next day, Bradshaw told Mrs. Johnson, "You relax. I'm going to find her," Aaliyah's father expressed his concerns to the police about his missing daughter. "She
wouldn't know how to survive on the street," he remarked.
The next day, Bradshaw placed a call to Aaliyah's worried mother. While trying to reach the phone, Mrs. Johnson suddenly collapsed. Sharaunmyesha Johnson had suffered a massive heart attack and died.
She was only thirty-two-years-old.
Aaliyah Johnson's father became quite shattered by all of the events that had unfolded. He could no longer hold back his fears and depressions. Bradshaw remained determined to find his daughter. "I
want to find my daughter. She needs to know her mother died looking for her.' He was also upset because an Amber Alert was not placed. "My daughter is just as important as the other kids that's
missing." Bradshaw believed that his daughter was not a runaway and that she had been abducted. He went on to express his concerns over the investigation. "They waited until her mother had to die from heartache from this. Nobody would help us." Investigators assured the forty-three-year-old father that they were doing all that could be done to find his daughter.
Law enforcement authorities consider Aaliyah Johnson to be a missing and endangered person. A massive search for this missing child is still underway. She was last seen wearing a green shirt and blue jeans. She has shoulder-length brown hair. Despite her size, Aaliyah has the mentality of a 7 or 8 year old. Anyone with information on this missing child and/or her whereabouts is urged to immediately contact the Kensington East Police Department (215-686-3243).
