Jonnie Renee White
Jonnie, circa 1998; Age-progression to age 37 (circa 2018)
- Missing Since 07/19/1998
- Missing From Kodiak, Alaska
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Sex Female
- Race White
- Date of Birth 12/31/1981 (42)
- Age 16 years old
- Height and Weight 5'3, 105 pounds
- Clothing/Jewelry Description Black stretch pants, a blue and black cut-off t-shirt with an image of the planet Earth imprinted on the front, and black sandals.
- Associated Vehicle(s) Four-wheel drive Ford pickup truck (accounted for)
- Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Red/brown hair, brown eyes. Jonnie's hair at the time of her 1998 disappearance was longer on the sides than is depicted in the pictures. She may go by her middle name, Renee. She has a mole near her navel and a tattoo.
Details of Disappearance
Jonnie resided with her mother in Kodiak, Alaska in 1998. She was hired to babysit Sharon Dawson Raikoglo's young child while the latter attended a music festival in July 1998. Raikoglo and her then-boyfriend, Roland Scott Tennison, camped overnight with Jonnie and the child at the Pasagshak Bay State Recreation Site on July 18. The area is approximately 40 miles north of the city of Kodiak.
The couple stated they planned to drink alcohol at the music festival and planned to use Jonnie as a designated driver if necessary. Jonnie had worked for Raikoglo several times before.
Tennison told authorities that Jonnie accompanied him to collect firewood from the beach at approximately midnight on July 19. He said his four-wheel drive Ford pickup truck became stuck in the sand near the Narrow Cape area, three or four miles from the campsite, shortly afterwards. He claimed that he and Jonnie decided to sleep inside the vehicle, since neither of them were dressed for the chilly weather.
They both went to sleep at approximately 4:00 a.m. Tennison stated Jonnie had disappeared by the time he awoke at 10:00 a.m., and at first he assumed she had walked back to the campsite. Jonnie has never been heard from again.
Raikoglo contacted authorities when Tennison and Jonnie failed to return several hours after departing the campsite. Officials had launched a search by the time Tennison arrived later in the morning. No evidence related to Jonnie's whereabouts was found inside the park.
When authorities searched Tennison's truck and the area around where it was stuck, they found fire marks in the sand, but no firewood in the truck. No traces of blood or semen were found in the truck or on Tennison, and no alcohol or drugs were located.
In July 2000, a state coroner's jury concluded that Jonnie died as the result of undetermined causes on the night of her disappearance. No physical evidence was discovered linking anyone to her case.
Jonnie's mother filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit against Raikoglo and Tennison in February 2001. The suit alleged that Tennison may have been intoxicated on July 19 and injured Jonnie while they drove along the beach. Jonnie's mother stated she did not believe Tennison's story and thinks Jonnie probably died at the campsite. She stated Raikoglo apologized to her after Jonnie's disappearance and said she hadn't meant for it to happen.
Raikoglo was declared liable for Jonnie's presumed death in June 2003. Tennison, who now lives in Arkansas, did not defend himself against the suit. He refused to answer any questions about the night Jonnie disappeared, citing his Constitutional right against self-incrimination. A judge ruled in Jonnie's mother's favor in August 2003, ordering Tennison to pay her her $1.5 million in damages.
Neither Tennison nor Raikoglo have been charged with criminal wrongdoing in Jonnie's case. She had dropped out of high school by the time of her disappearance, and was trying to get a job. She wanted to save enough money to move in with her boyfriend in their own home.
Jonnie's boyfriend was away on a fishing trip at the time of her disappearance, but due back soon, and Jonnie wrote many hopeful journal entries about their relationship and her future. She did not drink alcohol in 1998, but she did occasionally smoke marijuana.
Jonnie's disappearance remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
- Alaska State Troopers 907-225-5118
Updated 3 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated December 19, 2019; age-progression updated.