Kenai girl missing; reported as runaway

A Kenai girl, Ayla Smith, is missing from the home of her mother Megan Ehret since Friday morning. Ehret reported her a runaway to the Kenai Police Department Friday.

A Facebook message posted on local Facebook pages, including the Peninsula Clarion’s, by Ehret’s friend Holly Ward states that Smith is around 5 feet,1 inch tall with blond/brown hair and blue eyes.

The message states Smith was last seen 9 a.m. Friday at Ehret’s home. Ehret said Smith went missing while Ehret was at work, leaving a note saying she was running away. Ehret said she took two grey cats with her.

Kenai Police Department Sergeant Scott McBride said the Kenai Police have posted a bulletin on a case to other local departments.

“If anybody else knows where the child’s at, they’ll call us,” McBride said.

McBride said the Kenai Police would be the principal investigators of the case.

Ehret said that in addition to the state troopers and the Kenai police department, she reported Smith’s disappearance to the Seward and Anchorage police, as well as others.

“I’ve notified everybody,” Ehret said. “Because of her outreach on social media in the past, she has friends all over the state. Pretty much every police department, but most active with the Kenai Police Department.”

Ehret said Smith’s social media accounts haven’t been receiving new posts since her disappearance.

Those with information can submit it to the Kenai Police Department at 283-3693, or to Megan Ehret at 398-3143.

Reach Ben Boettger at ben.boettger@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Bear 747, defending Fat Bear Week Champion, stands on the bank of the Brooks River in Katmai National Park, Alaska. The winner of a Thursday matchup between Bear 128 Grazer and Bear 151 Walker will meet 747 in Fat Bear Week competition on Saturday. (Photo courtesy C. Cravatta/National Park Service)
Survival of the fattest

Paunchy ursine competitors go head-to-head in annual Fat Bear Week

Soldotna Elementary School Principal Dr. Austin Stevenson walks amid natural gas pipes anchored to the outside of school on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
High costs stall work on school bond

A cost estimate for the reconstruction of Soldotna Elementary School came back $13.5 million over budget

(City of Seward)
Police standoff closes Seward Highway

Police say standoff was with ‘barricaded individual,’ not escaped inmate

Mount Redoubt can be seen across Cook Inlet from North Kenai Beach on Thursday, July 2, 2022. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska not included in feds’ proposed 5-year oil and gas program

The plan includes a historically low number of proposed sales

A copy of "People, Paths, and Places: The Frontier History of Moose Pass, Alaska" stands in sunlight in Soldotna, Alaska, on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Moose Pass to receive award for community historical effort

“People, Paths, and Places: The Frontier History of Moose Pass, Alaska” was a collaboration among community members

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board Member Debbie Cary speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. Cary also served on the borough’s reapportionment board. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
School board president receives award for meritorious service

Debbie Cary, of Ninilchik, is the Alaska Superintendent Association’s 2024 recipient of the Don MacKinnon Excellence in Education Award

Dr. Tara Riemer is seen in this provided photo. (Photo courtesy Alaska SeaLife Center)
SeaLife Center president resigns

Riemer worked with the center for 20 years

Voters fill out their ballots at the Challenger Learning Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Election Day, Nov. 8, 2022. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Election 2023: When, where to vote Tuesday

City council, Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, the local school board races are all on the ballot

Dianne MacRae, Debbie Cary, Beverley Romanin and Kelley Cizek participate in a Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education candidate forum at Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
School board candidates wrap up forum series

The forum was the eighth in a series hosted by the Clarion and KDLL ahead of the 2023 elections

Most Read