Two South Dakota men indicted in connection with death of 14-year-old Sioux Falls girl

Two men have been indicted on criminal charges related to the missing-person case of McKenna Wendel, who was found dead on March 19, 2026, in Brookings, South Dakota.

United States Attorney Leif Olson says Mark Milk, 51, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Jon Rogness, 38, of Brookings, South Dakota, were charged in an indictment filed on June 17, 2026, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.

Milk faces five counts:

·           Possession with intent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death,

·           Possession with intent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance,

·           Transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity,

·           Conspiracy to conceal objects with the intent to impair their availability for an official proceeding, and

·           Concealing objects with the intent to impair their availability for official proceedings.

Rogness faces two counts:

·           Conspiracy to conceal objects with the intent to impair their availability for an official proceeding, and

·           Accessory after the fact.

Milk and Rogness will have an initial appearance before a judge at the Sioux City federal courthouse at a date yet to be determined.

As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild. It is being investigated by the Sioux Falls Police Department; Sioux Falls Fire Rescue; Minnehaha County, South Dakota, Sheriff’s Department; Minnehaha County Search and Rescue; Brookings County, South Dakota, Sheriff’s Office; Brookings Police Department; Brookings Fire Department; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; Brookings County Attorney’s Office; Minnehaha County, South Dakota, Attorney’s Office; the Iowa Department of Public Safety—Division of Criminal Investigation; Iowa State Patrol; Lyon County, Iowa, Sheriff’s Department; the Lyon County Attorney’s Office; the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office; the U.S. Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Investigation; and the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/‌login.pl. The case file number is 26-4032.