Feather Alert issued for missing McKinleyville teen, public asked to help

Humboldt County authorities are asking the public to help find 14-year-old Dan’des’ne Moorehead, who was last seen at his McKinleyville apartment around 9:30 p.m. May 8 and may have been seen the next morning in Eureka’s 1100 block of Broadway Street. The search has reached the level of a Feather Alert, signaling that deputies believe the disappearance is urgent and that a fast public response could matter.

Moorehead is Native American, about 5-foot-7 and 120 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing a black T-shirt, blue jeans and camouflage Nike Air Force 1 shoes. Investigators believe he was on foot, which makes the reported Broadway Street sighting especially important because it gives searchers a specific area in Eureka to focus on while they continue to work the case in McKinleyville and across Humboldt County.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office said Moorehead’s father reported him missing at about 8:11 a.m. May 10. Deputies believe he may have left the apartment sometime overnight or in the early morning hours of May 9, narrowing the window when he was last known to be safe. In cases involving juveniles, that kind of timeline can be critical, especially when the trail quickly moves from a home in McKinleyville to a possible sighting in Eureka.

Anyone who sees Moorehead or has credible information about where he may be should call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539. Officials are asking people to report leads directly rather than spread rumors, so deputies can check information quickly and keep the search focused.

The Feather Alert is California’s statewide system for missing Indigenous people. It was launched on Jan. 1, 2023, after Assembly Bill 1314, and later strengthened by AB 2348, which added a faster response timeline and direct communication between tribal governments and the California Highway Patrol. In this case, that framework is being used to push Moorehead’s description and last-known movements out to the widest possible audience while the search is still in its most important hours.