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- By Native News Online Staff
The Albuquerque FBI Division on Friday released an updated list of missing Indigenous persons in New Mexico and the Navajo Nation.
As of October 11, the list has 192 names on it. The latest version of the list reflects the addition of 27 names and the removal of 18 since the previous list was released in September.
The list is part of a collaborative project that began in July, when the FBI and its partners released the first list with 177 names. The FBI said it initiated the effort to help locate missing 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. The list is updated every month.
“The FBI launched this project back in July in collaboration with our federal, state, local, and tribal partners,” Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda said. “Since then, with the public’s help and through the hard work of law enforcement, we have been able to ascertain the location of many missing Native Americans. We continue to ask everyone to take a look at the list at fbi.gov/mmip, and if you have information about the whereabouts of a person on it, please contact your local or tribal law enforcement agency.”
If someone’s relative is included in the list of 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 law enforcement can contact the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
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.
The FBI also received information and support from the Navajo Nation, Native American pueblos, and local law enforcement.
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