It’s been a painful 12 days for the family of Keabreonna “KeKe” Doucet. They’ve spent each of those days searching for her.
“We are out here. We’re looking for you. We love you,” cousin Renee Griffith told Dateline. “Your daughter misses you.”
The 27-year-old vanished on June 15, 2024, in Ville Platte, Louisiana.
“We want you to come home,” Renee continued.
Renee said she and KeKe were raised in Ville Platte, along with the rest of their family. “It’s a very small town, not much to do,” she said.
Renee last saw KeKe on Friday, June 14 — the day before she disappeared. “She was with a couple of her friends,” Renee recalled of running into KeKe. “They were shopping.”
That same night, according to Renee, KeKe went to a party with friends and returned home. The following morning, on June 15, she left her house in Ville Platte to meet her daughter, Kemyrie.
Renee told Dateline the 11-year-old had spent the night at a friend’s house and was supposed to meet her mother to go to a basketball game.
“So, the little daughter was walking from her friend’s home and [KeKe] was walking from her home,” Renee explained. “They were gonna meet at this intersection where it runs into each other.”
The intersection was at Magnolia and Swallow Streets in Ville Platte. “When her daughter got to that location, her mom was not there,” Renee said.
Renee said Kemyrie tracked her mother using Find My iPhone. KeKe’s location was moving at the time but last pinged near Romeo Hargrave City Park. “And that was it. I’m not sure if her phone died or if it was turned off,” Renee said.
KeKe’s family was immediately alarmed, certain she would never fail to meet up with Kemyrie. “She was always with her daughter,” Renee said. “Kemyrie was preparing to go on summer vacation [with family], so she was going to see her mom before she left.”
But Kemyrie never got to see her mother. On June 16, KeKe was reported missing.
The Ville Platte Police Department is investigating KeKe’s disappearance. On June 24, they posted about the case asking for the community’s help to locate KeKe. The post confirmed she “was last seen June 15, 2024, when she left her home on W. Live Oak Street in Ville Platte at 9:00 a.m.” so that she could “bring her daughter to a basketball game at 10:00 a.m.” It added that “her phone location pinged her near Romeo Hargrave City Park that day, but the phone was turned off after that.”
Since KeKe’s disappearance, the family has been searching relentlessly for her. “We searched where her phone pinged at. We even walked the route that she would’ve taken to leave her house,” cousin Renee said.
Law enforcement has also been searching for KeKe --and for answers. On June 22, they made an arrest during the course of their investigation. According to a June 25 post from the Ville Platte Police Department, detectives obtained a warrant for the home of Jerry Lee Verrette. The 75-year-old was arrested for solicitation of prostitution. It is unclear how the arrest might be connected to KeKe’s case. Dateline reached out to both the Ville Platte Police Department and Jerry Lee Verrette but has yet to receive responses. Verrette was released on bond on June 26.
According to Renee, KeKe’s family has no idea who Verrette is. “He’s not even from our area,” she said.
Renee believes Verrette’s arrest may bring KeKe’s family one step closer to finding her. In the meantime, they won’t stop searching. “We’re keeping up hope thinking that she’s somewhere,” she said.
The United Cajun Navy, a search and rescue group based in Louisiana, has also been assisting with the search for KeKe. As the heat there climbs to dangerous temperatures, they’ve asked for prayers as they continue the search.
KeKe’s family is also asking for prayers.
“We’re asking everyone to just keep praying and keep sharing her on social media posts,” cousin Renee pleaded. “Just keep her name out there.”
KeKe is 5’2” and 125 lbs. She has braids in her hair and was last seen wearing a pink bonnet, black shorts with polka dots, and a raspberry-colored shirt.
Anyone with information on KeKe’s case is urged to contact the Ville Platte Police Department at 337-363-1316.
Kyani Reid
