Nalani Johnson Found: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Nalani Johnson was a missing 2-year-old Pennsylvania girl who is the subject of an Amber Alert after a woman claimed her father sold her for $10,000 but her father accused that woman of driving off with the toddler.

Tragically, authorities now say the little girl’s body has been found at Pine Ridge Park in Burrell Township, Indiana County.

The search was on for Nalani Johnson after the arrest of Sharena Islam Nancy, the 25-year-old woman accused in the kidnapping of the child. The Allegheny County Police Department reported in a news release that “the driver of the Toyota Yaris sedan involved in this incident, Sharena Islam Nancy, is lodged in the Allegheny County jail awaiting arraignment after being charged with the following offenses:

• Kidnapping of a minor
• Interference with custody of children
• Concealment of whereabouts of a child.”

Allegheny County Police Superintendent Coleman McDonough said later that Nancy and Nalani’s father, Paul Johnson, were in a romantic relationship.

“Sharena Nancy and Paul Johnson became acquainted intermittently over the last few months, so they were known to each other,” McDonough said. “…They were friends; they were in the beginnings of an intermittent romantic relationship.” Authorities believe that Paul Johnson and a friend spent “several hours together” with Sharena.

He added, “We believe that an argument ensued at approximately 5 p.m. or so. Mr. Johnson and Mr. [Justin] Rouse (Johnson’s friend) exited the vehicle with the intention of taking Nalani with them when Ms. Nancy pulled away with the child in the vehicle.”

According to WTAE-TV, “The search location is about a mile away from Chestnut Ridge,” a resort near where police think Nancy traveled.

On Sept. 1, 2019, police announced that they continued “to investigate the disappearance of two-year-old Nalani Johnson, who was abducted yesterday in Penn Hills. During our investigation, we developed information that the 2017 black Toyota Yaris, bearing PA license plate KLW3926, travelled to the Blairsville, New Alexandria and Delmont areas of Westmoreland County during the 5:30 to 7:30 PM time frame.”

According to WTAE-TV, “The search location is about a mile away from Chestnut Ridge,” a resort near where police think Nancy traveled.

Here’s what you need to know:

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1. Sharena Nancy Told Police That She Handed the Child Off to Two Unknown Women

The story took a bizarre turn after the arrest of Sharena Nancy. Her account of what happened to Nalani sharply contradicts the story of Nalani’s father, court records show.

The court records state that during an interview with authorities, “Nancy said that Johnson ‘sold’ Jane Doe (Nalani) to an unnamed individual for $10,000. According to Nancy, Johnson asked her (Nancy) to drive Jane Doe ’20 minutes’ from a gas station in Monroeville along U.S. Route 22. Nancy said that Johnson showed her a photograph of a black female and told her this individual would ‘flag’ her down along that route and Nancy was to turn Jane Doe over to the woman.”

She told detectives that “she did as Paul Johnson instructed her and encountered a silver SUV with out of state plates parked on the berm of the road with its four way flashers on. Nancy stated that the name of the state on the registration plate was written in cursive. A black female was standing beside the vehicle and a second black female was inside the vehicle.”

Nancy told investigators, according to the court documents, that she “gave Jane Doe to the woman standing beside the vehicle, along with the car seat. Nancy said that she drove near Blairsville and then turned around. Nancy said that she then drove to Monroeville, sat in her car and smoked cigarettes while talking on the phone with her husband, who currently lives in Bangladesh.”

Police said in a news release that the FBI has joined in the search for the little girl.

“The Allegheny County Police, FBI and the PA State Police will continue to vigorously investigate this matter to determine the whereabouts of Nalani Johnson. Again, we ask anyone who may have seen anything of interest in this matter to contact the Allegheny County Police Tipline at 1-833-ALL-TIPS (1-833-255-8477). Callers can remain anonymous. We can also be reached via our social media sites,” they wrote in the news release.

You can read Sharena Nancy’s full court summary here.

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2. Nalani’s Father Says Sharena Nancy Drove Off With the Toddler, Reports Say

The father of Nalani has a very different story from Sharena Nancy.

On Aug. 31, 2019, the Penn Hills Police “were alerted to a possible child abduction in their community. They responded and met with the biological father of the missing child,” the news release says.

“The father explained that his two-year-old daughter was abducted by a female and that female fled in a car with the child. The Penn Hills Police requested the assistance of the Child Abduction Response Team (CART) and an amber alert was issued. CART is comprised of FBI agents and Allegheny County Police detectives. They responded and initiated an investigation,” the release continues.

“The female alleged to have abducted the child, and her car, were located shortly after and she is currently in the company of investigators.” That’s the woman later identified as Sharena Nancy. According to KDKA-TV, Nalani’s father is Paul Johnson, and he alleged that he was in a car with Nalani and Sharena, but Sharena drove off with the child once he got out. He called police and they found the vehicle with Nancy in it, but no Nalani.

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3. Nalani’s Family Is ‘at a Loss’

Taji Walsh, Johnson’s grandmother, was making missing person flyers for Nalani.

“I’m just feeling helpless, and just at a loss,” said Walsh. According to Fox 6, Walsh says her son, Nalani’s dad, doesn’t know Nancy and didn’t do what Nancy accused him of doing.

Raihan Uddin is the husband of Sharena Nancy. He told KDKA-TV that she was “working as a ride-share driver Saturday night” and says she didn’t tell him anything about a child, even though they talked that night.

Police say there were indeed ride share stickers on the car’s windshield. “The vehicle used during this incident was a 2017 black Toyota Yaris hatchback with Lyft and Uber stickers in the front passenger side windshield,” they say.

“The Allegheny County Police have assumed the lead role in the investigation and are being assisted by the FBI,” police added.

Uber told KDKA-TV reporter Chris Hoffman that no one with Sharena Nancy’s name “took trips on the app this past weekend.” Lyft released this statement to Hoffman, “While this incident did not happen on the Lyft platform, these allegations are deeply disturbing. The safety of our community is fundamental to Lyft and we have permanently banned this individual from driving with Lyft.”

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4. Nalani Johnson, Who Is Nicknamed ‘Mooh,’ Was Last Seen Wearing a Floral Skirt & Black Shirt

Police gave this description of the missing child:

“The child’ name is Nalani Johnson. She is described as a black female with a light complexion, who will be two years old in September. She has short curly black hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a black shirt and a skirt with a floral pattern and black sandals. She is of average height and weight for a child that age and goes by the nickname ‘Mooh.'”

Uddin further told KDKA that he spoke to Nancy the night of the alleged abduction but she didn’t mention a child.

“She has me on the dashboard, so I mean I saw the car – the whole thing. She called the video off, but I still could hear her,” he said to the television station, which added that Uddin lives in India because he was deported. They were married in 2018, and he lives with their daughter in India, according to the television station, but Nancy sends them money.

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5. Police Say the Abduction occurred at a Local Intersection

The police news release provided these additional details:

“The abduction occurred at the intersection of Bryant Road and Prescott Road in Penn Hills. Through the course of the investigation, it has been determined that the female drove to Monroeville shortly thereafter. The car was spotted near the intersection of Route 48 and Route 22 at approximately 5:13 PM yesterday,” they wrote.

WPXI-TV described Sharena Nancy as “a 25-year-old Indian-American woman with black hair and brown eyes.” That description was put out initially when police were looking for Nancy.

Nancy is being held in the Allegheny County Jail, according to jail records.