Two men are facing federal charges in the death of a 14-year-old South Dakota girl — including one whose life prison sentence was cut short by then-Gov. Kristi Noem just two years ago.
McKenna Wendel was reported missing on March 13. She was last seen alive in her hometown of Sioux Falls in the early hours of March 14. Five days later, on March 19, her body was discovered in a rural area outside Brookings — about an hour’s drive north of Sioux Falls.
Wendel’s uncle, Mark Milk, 51, also from Sioux Falls, now faces five criminal counts connected to her death. Milk had been serving a life sentence on a manslaughter conviction for nearly three decades when Noem commuted his sentence in February 2023.
According to her obituary, Wendel was raised by her grandparents, had a deep love for animals, and was remembered for her “vibrant personality and a zest for life.” She and her grandparents were members of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and frequently attended powwows together.
“She loved the singing and the beautiful sounds of the drums,” her obituary read.
Authorities announced the charges at a news conference held Thursday in Sioux City, Iowa, but kept many details under wraps to avoid compromising their ongoing investigation.
Among the charges Milk faces is possession with intent to deliver cocaine that caused Wendel’s death. He is also charged with transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, court documents show.
A second man, Jon Rogness, 38, of Brookings, is charged with conspiracy and acting as an accessory in what prosecutors allege was an effort to conceal the crimes. U.S. Attorney for northern Iowa Leif Olson explained at the news conference that the charges filed were the “most serious, readily provable” ones available, and that all of them originated in Iowa.
“This is a horrific case,” said FBI Special Agent Gene Kowel. “There are no cases that we investigate that are more heart-wrenching and more tragic than the ones that involve children or the death of a child.”
Neither man had legal representation listed in court records at the time of the announcement.
Court records show that Noem commuted Milk’s life sentence for a manslaughter conviction stemming from an October 1993 stabbing death in the city of Winner. Milk, who was 19 at the time, had been involved in a series of confrontations that ended with the death of Shawn Peneaux.
When Wendel’s body was found, Milk was already behind bars on unrelated allegations of driving under the influence and eluding police. His name surfaced publicly in connection with the case almost immediately, but prosecutors — who wrapped up their investigation in late May — did not formally link him to Wendel’s death until filing charges on Wednesday.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley stated at a late March news conference that the decision to commute Milk’s sentence was entirely Noem’s call.
“It is fairly often that you see law enforcement oppose commutations,” Jackley said, declining to comment further on Noem’s decision. He also noted that the commutation documents were sealed and that even he had not been allowed to review them.
The Associated Press attempted to reach Noem for comment Thursday through NovaRed Mining, a Canadian company she recently joined in a “strategic advisory role.”
Noem, 54, is a Republican who served as South Dakota’s sole member of Congress from 2011 to 2019 and as governor from 2019 to 2025. She went on to serve as Homeland Security secretary before being fired in March by President Donald Trump amid criticism over her management of the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts and disaster response. Trump later praised her and named her special envoy for “The Shield of the Americas,” a new organization of Western Hemisphere nations focused on democracy and regional security.
