Detective says cruelty of woman's murder will "stay with me forever"
Lt. Dakota Black of the Pottawatomie County Sheriff's Office in Shawnee, Oklahoma, says the case of Makayla Meave, a missing teacher's aide, was one of the most heart-wrenching cases of her career.
Updated on: September 5, 2026 / 10:59 PM EDT / CBS News
This story originally aired on Nov. 15, 2025.
The guys at the sheriff's office call her a cool dude with long hair because, they say, she's meaner than any of them -- on the gun range and in the field. Her name is Lt. Dakota Black. She's a trained tracker and detective with the Pottawatomie County Sheriff's Office in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
Lt. Dakota Black : I go out to scenes when there's manhunts or trying to locate individuals.
Her specialty is finding the missing — whether alive or dead.
Lt. Dakota Black : I have found them underneath piles of leaves. … In trees and abandoned homes, sheds … I've found them pretty much in any area you can think of.