Karena McClerkin, 18: Vanished in 2016, Remains Identified in 2022
The primary suspect was acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges.
One look at the Justice for Karena McClerkin and Bring Karena McClerkin Home Facebook pages will break your heart.
The last time anyone heard from the 18-year-old was on October 11, 2016, in Kokomo, Indiana, when she reportedly told her grandmother, Gerry McClerkin, that she planned to attend a party. Karena said she was meeting up with a boy, and then they would make their way to the event together. At sometime during the evening, she vanished without a trace.
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Karena McClerkn’s Documented Last Movements
“The last thing my granddaughter said to me – she held my hand and said, ‘I’ll be alright grandma, I’ll be alright,’” Gerry revealed. WRTV did a follow-up report on this case in 2019 on the anniversary of Karena’s disappearance, stating that the teen left the party and then walked to a nearby BP gas station.
There, surveillance cameras captured Karena, and witnesses later claimed they saw her enter a vehicle in an alley. The car and who Karena may have been with were unknown at the time.
It was also revealed that Karena struggled with addiction, but she was turning her life around. She enrolled in a rehabilitation facility and was working on bettering herself. However, witnesses would claim that the last time they saw Karena was with a man named Flint Vincent Farmer. He was said to have purchased food and drugs, but no one knows what happened to Karena following their interaction.
Updated 2023: A Break In The Case
For years, Karena’s family endured chasing false leads and following up on rumors. There were murmurs that danger befell Karena, with people alleging she was murdered and buried.
In 2018, private investigators even offered to look into the case for free. However, police wouldn’t get a break until July 2022, when WHTR reported that they located Karena McClerkin’s remains in rural Miami County. Almost immediately, 57-year-old Farmer was arrested in connection with Karena’s disappearance and murder.
According to Farmer, he admitted to seeing Karena McClerkin before she went missing. He claimed he did see her near an alley, but she was never inside his home. Farmer further told police that Karena and another woman asked him for money, but he refused.
Yet, investigators spoke with Farmer’s neighbors, who shared that they had heard a fight coming from his apartment. They reportedly heard a person “gasping or whimpering,” and believed someone was being attacked.
A Family’s Frustration
In 2017, Gerry sat down with Dateline and detailed her granddaughter’s social life. “I told her to not go down that path. That there were other, bigger things she could do with her life,” she said. “She had her whole life ahead of her.”
“It’s just a horrible mess, and the things you hear just make you sick,” Gerry added. “I didn’t want to believe she was dead. It took me a while to accept that idea... Because of her race and age and the situation, no one seems to care. None of it means that she isn’t important. Every person is important, and that includes my granddaughter.”
Evidence Against Flint Farmer
Police continued to build their case against Farmer, beginning with his jailhouse phone calls. In one, he reportedly told the person on the other end to keep quiet when Karena came up in conversation. In another chat, Farmer allegedly issued a similar warning and told the person that Karena’s body wouldn’t be located.
“During the jury trial, a witness testified Flint Farmer brought McClerkin’s body into her apartment and instructed her not to call 911,” the outlet reported. “The witness testified at trial she was afraid of Farmer and did as instructed by not calling 911, court documents read.”
Still, WRTV News reported in 2025 that Farmer was found not guilty of murder and voluntary manslaughter. That same day, Howard County prosecutors reportedly filed six Obstruction of Justice charges against Farmer.
Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact the Kokomo Police at 765-456-7017, Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477, or their local authorities. The agency case number is 2016-06924. Anonymous tipsters may qualify for a reward.
Please share this story about Karena McClerkin. She is our sister, and her life matters.
Case Number: 2016-06924
Agency: Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana
Phone: 317-262-8477
Email:
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