UPDATE: On January 15, 2026, the Port Orchard Police Department announced that Ashlynn Hanley was located and “reunited with her mother on January 14th.” They stated the investigation into her disappearance and the surrounding circumstances is ongoing.
The morning of Wednesday, December 10, 2025, started like any other.
Jade Hanley sent her 15-year-old daughter, Ashlynn, a good morning text. “I said, ‘Good morning, I love you. I hope you have a great day. Make good choices,’” Jade told Dateline. “I didn’t get a response from her.”
It’s been more than a month, and Jade still hasn’t heard from Ashlynn. The teen was last seen on security footage in a Port Orchard, Washington, bowling alley parking lot that very morning.
“She’s pretty much a happy kid,” Jade said. “She’s stubborn, she doesn’t take no for an answer.” But, as Jade told Dateline, Ashlynn is also an at-risk teenager.
Just days before she vanished, Ashlynn had been released from a juvenile center with an ankle monitor, and was living with her paternal grandmother. Jade says that on the 10th, Ashlynn’s grandmother drove her to school, but it quickly became evident Ashlynn didn’t stay there.
Jade says she was contacted by the officials tracking Ashlynn’s ankle monitor, who told her that the monitor had been cut off and last pinged at the nearby bowling alley. “I got off work, and I went up to the bowling alley, and I asked if they have any video footage of their parking lot,” she said. Jade says the employee was able to send her the footage. She then contacted the Port Orchard Police Department to report her daughter missing.
Just a few days after Ashlynn was last seen, the Port Orchard Police Department posted about her disappearance on their Facebook page. They were asking for the public’s help in locating the teen, who they believed may have been headed to Seattle, which is on the other side of Puget Sound from Port Orchard. Deputy Chief Alan Iwashita of the Port Orchard Police Department told Dateline his office is working with multiple regional task forces and outside agencies to help find Ashlynn. “We have information that she’s possible on the east side of Puget Sound, which makes it difficult for us as an agency,” he said.
Authorities have recently released the security footage from the parking lot of the Hi Joy bowling alley in the High Point Shopping Center. On the northeast parking lot camera, Ashlynn can be seen running from behind the trees on Mile Hill Dr. into the parking lot. She is carrying a bag and a pink puffy jacket. On the northwest parking lot camera, Ashlynn is seen slowing down to a walk, making her way to the other side of the parking lot, where she gets into the front seat of a black SUV.
Iwashita told Dateline they have identified the SUV as a 2011 Buick Enclave with Washington state license plate #CPL3118, registered to a 45-year-old named Lavelle Cotton. “We’ve been in contact with an individual identifying as Mr. Cotton on the phone,” Iwashita said, adding that they have not yet spoken to him in person. Dateline has not been able to locate Cotton for comment.
At the end of the security footage, the Buick is seen leaving the parking lot and turning left onto Bethel Road, heading south. It was approximately 8:15 a.m.
Ashlynn has not been seen since. The deputy chief is hoping that with the attention of the media and Ashlynn’s face out there, she will be located safe. “We’re monitoring all the tips that are coming in. We’re taking them seriously and following up on the leads,” Iwashita told Dateline.
Jade is also hoping to find answers — she submitted the story to Dateline herself. “I just want the best for her, and I love her very much,” she said. In a follow-up text to Dateline, Jade shared a message meant directly for her daughter. “I’m not looking for an explanation or an apology. I’m just looking for you. Whatever you’re feeling, whatever has happened — it doesn’t change the fact that you are my daughter and I love you,” she wrote.
Ashlynn is about 5’1” and 110 lbs. She has brown eyes and had light brown hair when she was last seen, but has been known to dye it different colors.
If you have information on Ashlynn’s whereabouts, please contact the Port Orchard Police Department at 360-876-1700 or via email at [email protected].
If you have a story to share with Dateline, please submit it here.
