As families across Kentucky gather for Thanksgiving, one Rockcastle County family is facing a painful holiday without answers. It has now been six weeks since 13-year-old Wynter Wagoner disappeared from the Orlando community on October 14, and loved ones say the passing days have become increasingly agonizing.
Wynter had been living with a foster family at the time she vanished. Her father, Dusty Wagoner, says nothing about her disappearance feels like a typical runaway situation.
“It doesn’t feel like a runaway… you know what I mean,” he said.
Her aunt, Haley Whitehead, believes Wynter may have been struggling with a recent school change and says the emotional toll has been overwhelming.
“It’s like a cycle of emotions. One minute you’re scared, the next you’re angry,” Whitehead said. “You shouldn’t have to imagine every possibility — everything that could have happened or might be happening.”
Whitehead hopes Wynter might see a message from her family and reach out.
“I just hope that if she sees this, something clicks and she says, ‘I need to call somebody.’ I just want a little bit of hope.”
Wynter’s mother, Summer Engle, says she is holding onto optimism even as the holiday season makes her daughter’s absence even harder to bear.
“I’m going to stay positive because as a mother, you know in your heart if your child is okay,” Engle said. “It was so unexpected, and I’m frustrated she hasn’t been found yet — especially with the holidays here.”
According to LEX 18, investigators with the Rockcastle County Sheriff’s Office have conducted numerous interviews, reviewed surveillance footage, and carried out multiple ground and drone searches. Deputies say they continue to follow up on every tip but will not release details that could jeopardize the investigation.
Wynter’s father is pleading directly to anyone who may know where she is.
“If it’s somebody who’s afraid to let her go, just let her go,” Wagoner said. “I won’t say a word to you. Just let her come home safe. I’d give my life for her — I’d switch spots in a heartbeat.”
Whitehead echoed that desperation:
“I would love to just hear her voice… or even a short video clip. Anything. Just give me something.”
Dusty Wagoner describes Wynter as “an amazing person who loved people and never bothered anyone.”
As Thanksgiving arrives, he says the family’s only wish is simple:
“We just want her home safe.”
Anyone with information on Wynter Wagoner’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Rockcastle County Sheriff’s Office immediately.
