The FBI, in an effort to address the crisis of missing or murdered Indigenous persons, is releasing a list of more than 170 Native Americans it has verified as missing throughout New Mexico and the Navajo Nation.
This effort is being publicized to help locate these individuals, increase transparency, and to encourage relatives of missing Indigenous persons who are not on this list to reach out to local law enforcement and file a report.
A link to the list can be found at FBI.GOV/MMIP.
“Every missing person is important. For a long time, the issue of missing Native Americans has been in the news and a lot of people have been wondering if anybody is paying attention,” Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda of the Albuquerque FBI Division said. “I am here to assure you the FBI has been paying attention, and together with our partners, we are taking a significant step towards justice for these victims, their families, and communities.”
The release of the list is the result of almost six months of work combining and validating different databases of missing Indigenous persons in New Mexico.
“We will meet the case of each missing and murdered indigenous person with urgency, transparency, and coordination,” said Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico. “Everyone deserves to feel safe in their community, and the development and implementation of this list marks a promising step forward in the investigation and resolution of these cases.”
FBI validated the status of missing Indigenous persons as listed in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), a computerized system of criminal justice information available to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, and other criminal justice agencies. Many records of miss
Many records of missing Indigenous persons were incomplete or outdated because the record was not updated once additional details were made available or once the person was located.
The FBI vetted hundreds of files and arrived at more than 170 cases of Native Americans in New Mexico who have been verified as missing. The list includes all missing Indigenous persons within New Mexico, but it also includes the Navajo Nation, which crosses into New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. The FBI plans to update the names monthly.
Partners involved in the project include the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services, New Mexico's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIWR) Task Force, New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, New Mexico Department of Public Safety, New Mexico Department of Indian Affairs, Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office, and the City of Albuquerque Office of Equity and Inclusion.
As part of this effort, the FBI received information and support from the Navajo Nation, Native American pueblos, and local law enforcement.
If someone’s relative is included in the names, the FBI is actively checking numerous law enforcement databases and other sources nationwide to identify leads that will be quickly passed along to the appropriate agency.
If an Indigenous family member who is missing is not included in this list the relatives are urged to contact their local or tribal law enforcement agency and ask them to submit a missing person report to NCIC. For further assistance with their request, family members or local law enforcement can contact the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office or the FBI.
This project is in addition to the FBI’s continuing efforts to call attention to unsolved Indigenous homicides and missing person cases it is investigating.