Frantic search begins for missing 12-year-old Brooklyn girl who witnessed mother’s murder
Posted: Feb 16, 2022
Kayla Hill was reported missing in Brooklyn on Feb. 16, 2022 (NYPD)
BAY RIDGE, Brooklyn (PIX11) — Kayla Hill, a 12-year-old Brooklyn girl who witnessed her mother’s fatal shooting two years ago at the hands of her father, went missing Wednesday.
NYPD helicopters buzzed over the Brooklyn Bridge after the girl’s cellphone pinged near Red Hook.
Kayla Hill reportedly told school friends she was planning to take a bus from the Port Authority to Vancouver, Washington, the west coast city where she once lived with her mother, father and two younger siblings. On Nov. 26, 2019, Kayla Hill was in a car with her mother, father, brother, sister and maternal grandmother. That’s when Keland Hill started threatening the mom, Tiffany Hill. The 38-year-old dad was out on bail at the time and had an active restraining order involving Tiffany Hill.
When the grandmother tried to intercede by getting out to ask for help, Tiffany Hill was fatally shot. The grandmother was also shot. Keland Hill led deputies on a chase, then fatally shot himself in the head.
Kayla Hill’s grandmother, who survived, took Tiffany Hill’s three children across the country to start a new life in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
Kayla Hill has been attending 7th grade at Middle School 936 in Brooklyn. “She’s been struggling with emotions surrounding the change,” Kayla’s aunt, Tabitha Ojeda, told PIX11 News. “She’s in therapy, with her mom being gone.”
Ojeda said her niece had adjusted well to her new school and made friends, but she had issues with her maternal grandmother, who survived the shooting.
The NYPD asked people to call them with any information.
Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477)
