Latest news with #MissingIndigenousPersonAlert
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
Family of Denver mother still searching for answers months after finding her remains
DENVER (KDVR) — Nearly a year after Marcie Fairchild disappeared, her family says they still have no answers. The Denver mother of five, an Indigenous woman who was subject to a Missing Indigenous Person Alert, vanished in late May 2024. In February, her remains were identified after being found along Cherry Creek, bringing a heartbreaking end to the search, but not to the family's fight for justice. 3 charged after man killed, body set on fire in Colorado canyon: DA's office 'She was our mom, she was a beautiful, wonderful person and for her to be, you know, treated and left… she didn't deserve to go like that, you know. She didn't deserve to be left outside for months and months like that,' said Sommr Fairchild, Marcie's daughter. According to her family, Marcie was last seen on May 28, 2024, after finishing a shift at work. The last known communication came early the next morning. 'There was one call after that, around three in the morning to my niece, who was spending the night over there that night … and that was May 29, early in the morning. And then from there, it was just nothing,' said Sommr. Her phone and other belongings were still inside her home on the 1400 block of Poplar Street, but there were no confirmed sightings or solid leads in the weeks and months that followed. 'She didn't take anything… she ended up leaving her phone, which I thought was kind of weird,' Sommr added. Man missing in Conejos County since Wednesday, car found Thursday Frustrated by what they describe as a lack of communication and action from authorities, the family launched a GoFundMe page titled 'Bring Marcie Fairchild Home,' hoping to raise money for a private investigator. 'I did a lot of the finding out answers and investigating myself, and I didn't really get a lot of help from the missing persons department. It took weeks for responses — even when I would come into town, I'm calling and emailing, calling and emailing,' Sommr said. 'But once I was going around her house and the neighborhoods, and different things, I could tell that there wasn't anybody from the police department asking questions.' In February 2025, Denver police confirmed the remains found along Cherry Creek were those of Marcie Fairchild. While the discovery brought closure to the question of her disappearance, it raised new ones about what happened to her and who may be responsible. 'That's honestly one of the hardest things—not just the fact that she is deceased, but the fact of how she was found. That her body was just outside somewhere,' Sommr said. View the latest Weather Alerts in Denver and across Colorado on FOX31 'We just really want to know what happened to her, you know. We can't change what did happen, but we just don't have any answers still.' FOX31 reached out to Denver Police, who confirmed the case remains under investigation. No arrests have been made. The family is urging anyone with information, no matter how small, to contact authorities. The GoFundMe page supporting their efforts is linked here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Yahoo
May 5 marks Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women Day
Nationwide, there were 5,487 cases of missing Indigenous women and girls reported missing in 2024. That number is just reported cases and is likely much higher. Today, May 5, marks Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women Day. Washington state launched its Missing Indigenous Person Alert (MIPA) system in July of 2022. It adds a specific designation to missing people alerts, like an AMBER Alert (missing children), SILVER Alert (missing seniors) and Endangered Missing Person Alert (missing vulnerable adults). This alert system was the first of its kind in Washington state. According to Washington State Patrol (WSP), since the MIPA was introduced, WSP has issued 154 at the request of law enforcement agencies. Of those 154, five people were found dead and 139 were located alive. It should be noted that since MIPA is such a new alert, it's hard to put that statistic into perspective for 2025 since it wasn't a number that was always tracked officially, WSP said in an email to KIRO 7. 'The best thing to come from the MIPA has been the awareness it has brought to this situation,' said Mary Jo Margeson, the program manager for the Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit with WSP. Not every missing person qualifies for the various missing persons alerts, including MIPA, in the system. The criteria for the system to be activated, according to WSP: An Indigenous person is missing due to unexplained, involuntary, or suspicious circumstances and/or is believed to be in danger because of age, health, adverse weather, or other circumstances and is believed to be unable to return to safety without assistance. There is enough descriptive information available that could reasonably assist with the safe recovery of the person such as: photos, height, weight, age, hair color, distinguishing physical characteristics, clothing, etc. The incident has been reported to and is being investigated by law enforcement. If there is a vehicle associated with the disappearance, the information on make, model, color, license plate number, etc., will allow the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to post the information on electronic signs along highways. Once an MIPA is activated, all Washington law enforcement will be notified of the missing person. News outlets are notified and can disseminate the information, too. Both federal and tribal statistics found that Indigenous women are two times more likely to be raped and three times more likely to be murdered compared to Caucasian woman. The National Criminal Justice Training Center found that Indigenous women are 10 times more likely to be murdered than all other ethnicities. On top of those statistics, there have historically been obstacles in the way of getting justice for this group of people. There are frequently issues of jurisdiction involving tribal land and municipal locations, and oftentimes, crimes against these women are not prosecuted for one reason or another. Another challenge, according to the Urban Indian Health Institute, a division of the Seattle Indian Health Board, is lack of records/access to records and racial misclassification regarding missing Indigenous women. 'Though there are critical issues regarding jurisdiction of MMIWG cases on reservation and village lands, lack of prosecution, lack of proper data collection, prejudice, and institutional racism are factors that also occur in urban areas,' according to a 2018 report from the UIHI. That same report also found that Seattle had the highest number of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls cases of 71 cities studied across the U.S. You can find a list of all reported missing Indigenous people in Washington state here. In the 2023 legislative session, the Washington Legislature extended the work of the Washington State Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force after it was established in 2021. The Task Force aims to address issues like collecting data, law enforcement training, and executing actionable changes. A final report is due by June 1, 2025.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Yahoo
Washington State Patrol issues MIPA alert for Lummi Nation woman missing since January
The Washington State Patrol on Thursday issued a Missing Indigenous Person Alert (MIPA) for Besalynn James, 62, of Bellingham, on behalf of the Lummi Nation Police Department. According to the alert, James was last seen in Bellingham Jan. 21, when she was wearing black pants, a black puffy jacket, white sneakers and a black stocking cap. James is described as 5 feet, 2 inches tall, weighing 180 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information regarding James' location is asked to call 911. The case number is 25100487.
USA Today
17-02-2025
- USA Today
Body matching missing University of Colorado Boulder student Megan Trussell recovered
Body matching missing University of Colorado Boulder student Megan Trussell recovered Show Caption Hide Caption Coast Guard joins rescue of missing woman in state park The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a 64-year-old woman who was missing in Shore Acres State Park in Oregon for three days. A body matching the description of a University of Colorado student who went missing last week was found in a "hard-to-reach" area of Boulder Canyon, authorities said. City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks rangers alerted authorities shortly after 10:40 a.m. local time on Saturday that a deceased female was discovered near the 40-mile marker of Boulder Canyon, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office said. When investigators arrived at the scene, they found a body that matched the description of 18-year-old Megan Trussell, who went missing on Feb. 9. A GoFundMe page on Sunday transitioned from helping find her to memorializing her. "We will always cherish the memories of Megan's vibrant spirit and the love she shared with us," the organizer wrote. "The decedent's name is not being released at this time, pending identification confirmation and notification of next of kin," the sheriff's office said in a statement Saturday. "The Boulder County Coroner's Office will also determine the cause and manner of death." The body was found in "hard-to-reach terrain" that required first responders to rappel and conduct a technical evacuation, according to the sheriff's office. Missing University of Colorado student last seen on campus Trussell was last seen on Feb. 9 at around 10 p.m. on the University of Colorado Boulder campus, according to several law enforcement agencies. Authorities described her as an indigenous female with red hair and brown eyes. She was last seen at her residence hall on campus, wearing a blue or gray jacket, dark-colored or red yoga-style pants and white platform sneakers, authorities said. She was also carrying a "distinct" blue purse with a pink star, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. The CU Boulder Police Department reported Trussell's disappearance on Thursday and said the department was working with "local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and first responders on campus, on the ground and in the air." The FBI's field office in Denver also said it was assisting in the search for her. On Friday, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued a statewide Missing Indigenous Person Alert for Trussell. A family friend of the Trussell family, Judy Brocato, told television station Denver7 that Trussell's phone had pinged in Boulder Canyon the night she disappeared. Brocato had helped with the volunteer search on Saturday. Brocato noted that Trussell "wasn't much of a hiker" and that it was cold that evening, according to Denver7. A strong storm system has blanketed parts of Colorado over the weekend, bringing cold temperatures and periods of heavy snow over, the National Weather Service in Boulder said. "It is very perplexing how she just seems to have disappeared," she told Denver7. "It doesn't make sense. So, we're just trying to piece that together." Missing Alabama realtor: Ronald Dumas, missing over 2 months, now believed abducted, 'in danger' Investigation and recovery of remains A stretch of Boulder Canyon Drive, also known as Highway 119, was temporarily closed between the city of Boulder and the town of Nederland during the investigation, the Colorado Department of Transportation said. The Boulder Canyon Trail, a 2.6 mile trail that runs along Boulder Creek and Boulder Canyon Drive, was also temporarily closed, according to Boulder County Parks and Open Space. The trail reopened shortly after 4 p.m. on Saturday. The road closure allowed "investigators access to recover the decedent, conduct the investigation, and for the safety of first responders working in the area due hazardous road conditions created by the weather," the sheriff's office said. Several local agencies and volunteer groups assisted in the investigation, which is being led by the Boulder County Sheriff's Office and the Boulder County Coroner's Office.
