Missing and Murdered Indigenous People

A man charged in a Navajo woman’s 2021 disappearance has pleaded guilty to robbery, a case emblematic of the crisis of killings and disappearances in Native communities.

Authorities are investigating the death of 8-year-old Maleeka “Mollie” Boone, who was reported missing from the Coalmine community on the Navajo Nation.

Ahead of the next session, Arizona Democratic state lawmakers held a town hall on missing and murdered Indigenous peoples for input on the problems facing families, advocates and victims.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety, which reviews and distributes all statewide alerts for missing people, says the new Turquoise Alert system is working as intended.

Gov. Katie Hobbs announced Thursday that the new Turquoise Alert System is now online. The system is designed to help locate missing Indigenous or endangered persons.

A grand jury has indicted 20 people, a mental health business and a church in a widespread sober living home scheme that targeted Native Americans and defrauded Arizona’s Medicaid program out of $2.8 billion.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has signed legislation to create an alert system for Native Americans who have gone missing in the state.

A new alert system will be used for missing and endangered persons who do not meet the Amber and Silver Alert criteria, enabling a more rapid and coordinated response.

The FBI is sending extra agents, analysts and other personnel to field offices in 10 states including Arizona to help investigate unsolved violent crimes in Indian Country.

Tribal leaders say a coordinated alert system for missing Indigenous people could save lives in Arizona.