{"id":840173,"date":"2025-04-09T18:12:36","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T23:12:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/09\/young-indigenous-girl-emily-pike-found-murdered-dismembered-with-severed-head-in-bag-family-and-community-demand-justice\/"},"modified":"2025-04-09T18:12:36","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T23:12:36","slug":"young-indigenous-girl-emily-pike-found-murdered-dismembered-with-severed-head-in-bag-family-and-community-demand-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/09\/young-indigenous-girl-emily-pike-found-murdered-dismembered-with-severed-head-in-bag-family-and-community-demand-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Indigenous Girl Emily Pike Found Murdered, Dismembered with Severed Head in Bag: Family and Community Demand Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"
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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.<\/p>\n

As CrimeOnline previously reported<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Information regarding Pike\u2019s death leaked to the public late last month via a memo from Gila County police and social media. The memo indicated that Pike\u2019s head and torso were found in bags. Her arms and hands are reportedly still missing.<\/p>\n

An autopsy indicated she suffered facial and head trauma.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat 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,\u201d Lt. Jim Lahti told 12News in an interview. <\/a><\/p>\n

Gila County police are handling the case and treating it as a homicide.<\/p>\n

Emily Pike\/Mesa Police<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\u2019s Division of Indian Affairs<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201dIndiana funeral director Kyra King told CrimeOnline.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Gila County Sheriff\u2019s Office in Arizona said investigators are receiving tips and leads around the clock. They believe the location where Pike\u2019s remains were found may not be where she was killed.<\/p>\n

Gila County police Lt. James Lahti told KNXV that no suspects or persons of interest have been identified, though they have some leads.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur detectives here have been in contact with members of the Mesa Police Department since that is where she was last at,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ve also been in contact with the FBI and BIA [Bureau of Indian Affairs] and then other agencies here in the state.\u201d<\/p>\n