What to Know
Joniah Walker was 15 years old on June 23, 2022, when she got into an Uber in Milwaukee that was arranged by a man she met online and trusted. She traveled to Chicago to meet Owen Anderson, who reportedly abducted her outside of a movie theatre and held her captive for four years.
The man allegedly took Walker hundreds of miles away to Virginia, where she endured years of abuse under his control. Police in Blacksburg found the teen when responding to a domestic disturbance four years later. She didn’t identify herself at first but later contacted police and told them who she really was. Anderson, 37, now faces multiple charges related to four years of alleged abuse.
Anderson allegedly groomed Walker for years.
According to court documents obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, police in Virginia contacted the Milwaukee Police Department in May 2026 after Walker identified herself to officers following a domestic disturbance call.
The now 19-year-old told officers Anderson abducted her in 2022 after grooming her for years online through Kik, Discord, and Signal. Walker began communicating with Anderson when she was only 12 years old. Anderson reportedly gave her instructions on how to run away and promised “a life with everything (she) needed.”
Anderson reportedly held Walker captive for years.
He allegedly instructed Walker to purchase a burner phone, which she used the day of the abduction. When they met up in Chicago, the abductor threw away the phone and drove Walker to his home in Virginia, according to the teen.
She stayed inside his home for four years, enduring physical and sexual abuse, per the complaint. Walker said Anderson threatened to hurt her family if she ever attempted to leave or let anyone know where she was. She didn’t attend school or have outside contact.
Local leaders celebrated Walker’s return.
Representative Shelia Stubbs shared a statement with Urban Milwaukee after learning police found Walker Alive.
“I have been waiting and praying for the day of Joniah’s safe return. I want to thank Ms. Tanesha Howard, Joniah Walker’s mother, for standing beside me in the State Capitol to advocate for a Missing and Murdered African American Women and Girls Task Force for multiple legislative sessions and for never giving up hope that her daughter would, one day, be located alive and safe. We must use that same hope and determination to continue the search for all missing people across Wisconsin,” she wrote.
Walker’s family wants answers.
Following the discovery of the teenager, Walker’s family told NBC News they believe police failed the teenager. One family member said they knew something was wrong the day she disappeared and they could not reach her on her cellphone. “Her dad called me and was like, ‘Her phone’s going to voicemail.’ I knew immediately it was just off,” they said.
Another relative claims the police did little to comb the area for Walker. “Why didn’t the police go knock on people’s doors? Like everybody on that block has a Ring camera. We got the videos, not the police,” they added.
“No one interviewed me, no one sat me down. It was us versus the police stations with a glass between us,” another relative added.
When police arrested Anderson, he allegedly had two pistols, 14 loaded spare magazines, multiple knives, and pepper spray on his person. He faces charges of kidnapping by deceit, child enticement, and child abduction.
