GRANTS, N.M. – There are several missing people from Cibola County, New Mexico. One of the most vulnerable groups in the country is the indigenous women demographic. Cibola has had a number of indigenous women go missing, and while most are found, this is not the case for most indigenous women who go missing. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is taking extra steps to ensure that missing and endangered indigenous women are found, and renewing calls for help in understanding a hit-andrun in the Pueblo of Laguna to get justice for the family. An indigenous woman, Mona Renee Vallo was found dead due to a hit-and-run accident on March 9. Even after all of these months, authorities have not been able to find the driver or the vehicle used in the accident. This is the reality for cases involving indigenous women in the United States, more often than not, crimes of violence against them go unsolved.
A 2016 study by the National Institute of Justice found that more than four in five indigenous women suffer violence in their lifetime. Overall, more than 1.5 million American Indian and Alaskan Native women have suffered through some form of violence. Since assuming her position as Secretary of Interior, former New Mexico Congresswoman, representative and daughter of the Pueblo of Laguna, Debra Haaland has ordered the Department of the Interior to focus on resolving many of these unsolved cases and to fund justice for the victims of violence.
On August 11, 2021, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation updated a list of Native Americans it has verified as missing in New Mexico, and on the Navajo Nation. This list is updated monthly by the FBI.
“This list exceeded our expectations,” Special Agent in Charge, Raul Bujanda of the Albuquerque FBI Division said, “Besides appearing to be accurate for the state of New Mexico and the Navajo Nation, the list has galvanized local and tribal law enforcement agencies to update their files on missing Indigenous people. That's good news for the families who are seeking answers. The public also has reached out to us and our partners to share information.”
As of press time, there are 192 missing indigenous people on the list. Authorities believe this list to fall short of the true number of missing and endangered indigenous people. Family members can visit http://fbi.gov/mmip to view the list and contact the FBI to get family members on the list who are not currently there.
If a family member is not on the list, families can contact their local law enforcement agencies, which would include Grants Police Department, Milan Police Department, and the Cibola County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Laguna Police Department, Acoma Police Department, and the various Navajo Nation Police Departments to get a missing family member’s name to the National Crime Information Center, better known as NCIC.
The FBI is asking for assistance in finding all of the missing individuals on the list. Vallo will not be found on the list because she is not missing.
Vallo was not a member of the Pueblo of Laguna, she was a member of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation in Washington State, and was an active resident of the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico.
Details in her death have remained limited, but according to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Albuquerque Division, Vallo was discovered by drivers who passed by her on March 9 in the evening, her body was found just off U.S. Route 66, New Mexico Highway 124. Preliminary reports suggest that she was the victim of a hit-and-run crash that occurred around 7 p.m. on March 9.
“The deaths of too many Native American men and women remain unsolved,” said Special Agent in Charge, Bujanda. “We are working with the Pueblo of Laguna Public Safety Department to give Mona's family the justice they deserve. The public can help by contacting us if they have any information about her death.”
Vallo was an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the FBI at 505-889-1300 or go online to tips.fbi.gov. The FBI is offering a reward for information up to $5,000.