FORT DEFIANCE, AZ — The Native American community is seeking help finding dozens of people on its missing person list.
On Friday, the Navajo Police Department released its updated list showing 82 people who are currently missing, with some missing since the 1970s, including 24 females and 58 males.
Anyone with information on any of the missing person cases is encouraged to call the police department tip line at (928) 686-8563 or email tips to tips.npd@navajo-nsn.gov.
RELATED: US authorities charge man in case of missing Navajo woman
A New Mexico man was in court Friday on assault and carjacking charges in connection with the 2021 disappearance of Native American woman Ella Mae Begay, whose case has garnered national attention as tribal leaders and law enforcement address an epidemic of missing person cases and unsolved slayings in Indian Country.
Federal prosecutors said the indictment naming Preston Henry Tolth marked an important step in determining the truth about what happened to Begay, a Navajo woman who was 62 when she disappeared. Her truck was seen on the morning of June 15, 2021, leaving her home in the remote community of Sweetwater in the Navajo Nation, not far from the meeting point of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado.
The investigation is ongoing, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona said.
Last year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a list of more than 170 Native Americans it has verified as missing throughout New Mexico and the Navajo Nation that stretches into Arizona and Utah.
If you need to REPORT a person missing, please contact your local NPD District or local law enforcement agency. Be prepared to provide essential information, including a physical description of the individual and a recent photo to submit with your report.
• Window Rock District: 928-871-6111/6112
• Chinle District: 928-674-2111/2112
• Shiprock District: 505-368-1350/1351
• Crownpoint District: 505-786-2050/2051
• Kayenta District: 928-697-5600
• Dilkon District: 928-657-8075
• Tuba City District: 928-283-3111/3112
