The killing of a 14-year-old Arizona girl is reverberating through Indigenous communities nationwide, including in Indiana, where a local funeral director is demanding justice.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Emily Pike, a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, was reported missing in late January. She was last seen walking near Phoenix before investigators found most of her remains, but some have yet to be recovered.
Pike was in a group home when she vanished from the Mesa area. Her former roommate told the media that Pike had a history of running away, and that she vanished after wanting to be with a boy she met while taking guitar lessons.
Information regarding Pike’s death leaked to the public late last month via a memo from Gila County police and social media. The memo indicated that Pike’s head and torso were found in bags. Her arms and hands are reportedly still missing.
An autopsy indicated she suffered facial and head trauma.
“That is one of the big focuses of the investigation is what happened between the end of January and then February 14 when she was discovered,” Lt. Jim Lahti told 12News in an interview.
Gila County police are handling the case and treating it as a homicide.
According to 12News, murder, rape, and violent crime affect Native American and Alaska Native communities at higher rates than the national average, perthe U.S. Department of the Interior’s Division of Indian Affairs
A 2016 National Institute of Justice study found that violence has impacted 84% of American Indian and Alaska Native women in their lifetime, including 56% who have experienced sexual violence.
“I see a lot of death, but no one sees as much death as our Indigenous people, and we need to shine light on that, on our MMIW/MMIP,”Indiana funeral director Kyra King told CrimeOnline.
“There needs to be accountability of the systems that have failed them. Emily Pike, and the hundreds of thousands that have been missing and murdered before and after, this whole movement is tribute and rally cry for actions against an ongoing Crisis. We need to say her name, say all their names until justice is served.”
The Gila County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona said investigators are receiving tips and leads around the clock. They believe the location where Pike’s remains were found may not be where she was killed.
Gila County police Lt. James Lahti told KNXV that no suspects or persons of interest have been identified, though they have some leads.
“Our detectives here have been in contact with members of the Mesa Police Department since that is where she was last at,” he said. “They’ve also been in contact with the FBI and BIA [Bureau of Indian Affairs] and then other agencies here in the state.”
Meanwhile, family members remember Pike as a happy, beautiful young lady.”
“We want justice for Emily and what happened. Justice needs to be served,” said Trinnie Pike, Emily’s aunt, Trinnie Pike, said during a Wheat Ridge vigil last week. “Nothing like this should ever happen to anybody, and there are so many more of our relatives in our native country who still need justice as well.”
Anyone with information regarding this case should call Gila County police at 928-200-2352, the Bureau of Indian Affairs at 505-917-7830, or the San Carlos Apache Tribal Police at 928-475-1755.
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo viaMesa police]