Emergency workers are currently combing through wooded areas in East Bremerton in search of a six-year-old girl who has been missing since Saturday.

Search and rescue teams crowded the parking lot of Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue’s station 41 this afternoon for briefings prior to searching the wooded area closest to Jenise’s neighborhood on Steele Creek Drive where she was last seen.

“They’re working through some pretty thick brush,” said Patti Pollard of Washington Explorer Search and Rescue, Kitsap unit. The search team also brought K-9 handlers trained to use air and trail scents.

Pollard said volunteers will work in groups of three to six to search the wooded area.

A customs and border protection helicopter flew above searchers, a chopper that’s often used in high speed vehicle pursuits, said Kitsap County Sheriff’s Deputy Spokesman Scott Wilson.

Several county search and rescue teams have joined in the efforts, allowing more ground to be covered, Wilson said. The Seattle division of the FBI also joined the search.

“This just gives us more bodies to assist,” he said. “It’s good to have these resources.”

Jenise has a medium build, is about 3 feet tall with brown eyes and black hair. She is Caucasian and Native American/Filipino, according to sheriff’s reports. It is unknown what clothing she was wearing at the time of her disappearance.

The child was last seen at her home where she lives with her parents and six siblings on Steele Creek Drive in East Bremerton. When her parents awoke on Sunday and she wasn’t in bed, they assumed she had gone out with friends or family wandering the neighborhood.

According to a Kitsap County Sheriff’s press release, Jenise often goes out in the neighborhood with friends or family and usually checks-in every few hours. By 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, the family started knocking door-to-door in the mobile home park.

They called authorities around 9:55 p.m. on Sunday. A search and rescue team comprised of local authorities and a K-9 unit were unsuccessful in finding the child. Janice has been entered into the FBI National Crime Information Center as a missing person.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Jenise are asked to call Kitsap County Central Communications at 360-308-5400. The case reference number is K14-007799.