Mother pleads for help as she believes a missing Kannapolis teen may be a victim of human trafficking again

WCNC Charlotte
Siobhan Riley
February 11, 2026

A Kannapolis mother is searching for answers a year after she last saw her daughter.

February 7, 2026, marked one year since LeQuanda Robinson went missing. She was 16 at the time.

Her mother, Shaquanna Harris, hopes the community has information leading to her daughter’s safe return.

“This was her senior photo; she was excited, she was happy,” Harris said.

Harris showed WCNC Charlotte the picture taken of her daughter not long before Robinson went missing.

“I just want to say that we love you, we want you to come home, and we are still searching for you, we not going to stop,” Harris said, “and I just hope that she’s okay because we don’t know.”

Ring camera footage showed Robinson running out of her home last February. Her mother would soon follow after her.

“All I seen was the 18-wheeler coming off the next street, from the street where she was running towards. When we looked at the camera, that’s how I knew she was on that street,” said Harris.

“Do you think that the driver of the 18-wheeler may have your daughter, and do you think it’s a case of human trafficking?” WCNC Charlotte reporter Siobhan Riley asked.

“Yes. I think it’s somebody she possibly met online, the only thing she was on was a video game,” said Harris.

This isn’t the first time Robinson disappeared from her home. In July of 2024, 43-year-old Andrew Szech was charged with coercing Robinson, who was 15 years old at the time, to meet him in Illinois.

“She was trafficked all the way to Chicago, where he held her captive; he abused her physically, sexually, which resulted in her being diagnosed with PTSD,” Harris said.

“It is concerning because LeQuanda was a missing child before, and she was a victim, “ said Derrica Wilson, co-founder of the Black and Missing Foundation who is also helping with search efforts.

“People go missing for a variety of reasons. And oftentimes, it’s not a decision of their own. LeQuanda was one of those victims that was groomed online, and we all know that human trafficking is a huge issue that is impacting our communities here on U.S. soil,” Wilson said.

Robinson was set to graduate early from A.L. Brown High School last June and major in criminal justice at North Carolina State University.

“Don’t just look at it as a runaway; she’s still a minor, she’s still out there, we don’t know if she’s being harmed,” said Harris.

Kannapolis Police say they don’t have any updates but are continuing to search for Robinson and asking people who know about her whereabouts to contact them.

Photo credit: WCNC Charlotte