Former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson is asking the public for help as his friend searches for her missing daughter. "My friend's daughter is missing," Johnson, 53, wrote via X on Sunday, January 4. "If anyone has any info then please call the number in the picture or call Phoenix PD directly. Thanks." He attached a screenshot of a post his friend, Nicole Sanks, made via Facebook with more details and a picture of the young girl, whose name was not revealed. "My baby has been missing since 12/26," Sanks' post read. "We are actively looking for her as well as Phoenix PD. She is with another young lady named Jiavonnie. They are around 27th ave and Thomas [and] they were last seen at First Friday downtown on Roosevelt....if you see my child please call Phoenix PD or myself." Marshawn Kneeland's Family Guide: All About His Mom, Dad and Siblings Sanks added in the comments section, "Thank you all for your prayers and for the reposts it has helped with finding some leads on her whereabouts. Her father and I are working overtime to find our daughter... Please continue to keep my babygirl in prayer ... I love and appreciate you all 💜" Courtesy of Nicole Sanks/Facebook Football fans took to Johnson's replies to show their support. "Praying for her safe return home 🙏🏡," one fan wrote. "#Missing #MissingChild #Phoenix Hey, Twitter, do your thing. Please repost," another added. Johnson was a unanimous All-American during his college days at USC and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft, going to the New York Jets. He played for four teams during his career and was a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Super Bowl XXXVII championship team in January 2003. Marshawn Kneeland's Father Was Arrested Months Before Cowboys Star's Death Johnson retired at the end of the 2006 NFL season and joined ESPN where he was a football analyst until 2023, when he joined Fox Sports. He is also a father of five. Johnson and wife, Jennifer Conrad, share three kids: daughters London, 16 and Shyla, 5, and son Vance, 13. Johnson and ex-wife, Shikiri Hightower, who were married from 1998 to 2002, share daughter Maia and son Keyshawn Johnson Jr., 27. Johnson announced in March 2021 that Maia had died at age 25. Pregnant Girlfriend of Late NFL Star Marshawn Kneeland Posts Ultrasound Photos "It is with incredible sadness that I have to share the news about the passing of my beautiful Daughter Maia," he wrote via social media at the time. "Maia, as my first born child, has been the joy of my, and her Mother Shikiri's, life." He continued, "She came into our lives just as we were both coming of age as adults and has been a constant beloved presence for both of us. We are heartbroken and devastated by her loss." Johnson revealed in a July 2025 episode of his "All Facts No Breaks" podcast that Maia had "gotten ahold of some fentanyl." "There's only so much I can do," he said. "I can't live with that inside me - guilt of her passing because I know I did everything the right way. The best thing to do now is to turn the corner and do the right thing and keep pushing."
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Critical NFL's Keyshawn Johnson Asks Public for Help Finding Friend's Missing Daughter
January 5, 2026
2 days ago
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