NOTE: The article and interviews were done prior to Kendall's body being recovered on Thursday; click here for details.
Since June 15, 2024, search and rescue crews have been working tirelessly to find 17-year-old Kendall Danna after she disappeared at Lake Elwell.
"I wake up and it feels like one long day," cried Jacob Danna, father of the missing teen.
Jacob and his wife Rose Vieira have been married for 21 years. The two are enduring their greatest challenge to date.
“God does everything for a reason. I don't want to ask him why anymore." Danna's father said. "We just have to keep loving each other and keep loving our other children."
Kendall and her mother were best friends, frequenting Giant Springs State Park in Great Falls where the two would walk and take pictures.
Vieira said, Kendall was her artist, listening to Mozart, Beethoven, and enjoyed a good horror movie with her mom.
Dad remembers her as a girl full of jokes. Kendall may have been the family jokester, the two say she was the glue that held it all together.
Jacob told MTN he's tough on all his children. He says, his past lead him to be protective to ensure his children don't make similar mistakes to him.
Rose and Jacob have two other children. In a family of five, their is a somber emptiness inside their home.
"There's a big piece missing," said Vieira.
That piece has yet to be found after Rose and Jacob apprehensively agreed to allow their daughter go camping with a set of friends and their parents.
The two explained, Kendall had worked hard in school in the Spring semester and was studying to earn her driver's license all while being a good help around the house.
"I told her, no, I'll think about it. I don't think so and she just let it go. Then I got her report card. It was all A's and B's," explained Vieira.
The two gave in and permitted her to go camping.
According to information gathered by her daughter's friends following her disappearance, she went missing in the late morning on June 15th. It wasn't until around 3 p.m. that day, they were notified she hadn't turned up.
Rose and Jacob hit the road.
"All I remember is just getting in my truck and driving as fast as I could all the way there and pulling over that hill and seeing that big lake and thinking, my god," Kendall's father said.
Rose explained the the wind gusts were strong and she could see the white caps from the top of the hill. As they arrived the two sat on the beach for nearly six hours, waiting for an answer.
The only answer they received was she has yet to turn up. The same answer they've received nearly everyday from the Toole County Sheriff's Department.
Rose and Jacob explained they're indebted to the law enforcement officers who have been tirelessly searching for their daughter. The Danna's oldest daughter, Pyriel started a GoFundMe page to pay for any expenses when she is found for possible funeral arrangements.
With nearly 75 donors, some who left a name and others anonymous, they're eternally grateful for all who have lent a hand.
As rescue crews have turned up what are believed to be human remains on July 10th — the Danna family is hoping to bring her home, but understands the odds they're up against.
"There's always that hope, maybe she floated and got to somebody's field and she's somewhere. Then you think after 25 days and how the weather's been, and you almost feel like you know the answer. But you don't want to accept it.”
