BYLAS, AZ — Thursday marks two months since 14-year-old Emily Pike was first reported missing from a Mesa group home. Weeks later, she was found killed off the U.S. 60 northeast of Globe, nearly 100 miles away from the Valley.
ABC15 was invited back to San Carlos Apache tribal land to talk with the tribal council and members of Emily Pike's family.
Hear from Chairman Rambler in an exclusive ABC15 interview in the player above.
"I listen to families, I listen to friends, relatives, neighbors, and even the legislators, fellow tribal leaders that have really been just very emotional about this this whole ordeal and the way, the way it happened, and how it happened, and what's still unknown is just devastating to all of us," said San Carlos Apache Tribal Chairman Terry Rambler.
ABC15 spoke with Chairman Rambler in his first on-camera interview about the case and the tribe's calls for an investigation into group homes off reservation land.
This week the San Carlos Apache Tribal Council sent a resolution to state lawmakers urging tighter regulations on group homes, like the one Pike was living in. They also urged the Arizona Attorney General's Office to investigate the details around the circumstances of Pike running away from the Mesa home.
"We want the group homes to be investigated, their licensure, their operating standards, what standards they're following, safety guidelines," said Chairman Rambler.
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ABC15 learned there is only one group home on San Carlos Apache Tribal land, but Rambler said the home is very limited on the amount of children it can serve, only being able to house about a dozen children.
The tribal council is hoping to expand the group home they have on the reservation and possibly invest in other group homes off tribal land, but ABC15 was told it would take funding and resources.
"What we want to look into is enlarging the current group home that we have so that we can be able to keep more of our children here at home," said Rambler. "And in the event that we can't, we're looking at potentially investing in the group home off reservation where we can be able to watch our children."
Chairman Rambler said the tribal council is also looking at their own processes.
"We're commissioning an independent study internally because we want to look at our internal process, both from when the child is identified, when it goes through the system and where they end up," said Rambler. "We want to see the whole process internally, because we also want to see where we fail. Also where we need to improve our own standards."
Pike was placed by Tribal Social Services at the group home, operated by Sacred Journey Inc. The home has a state contract, and the Department of Child Safety has launched a licensing inquiry into the group home.
"At this time, the Department does not believe any action taken, or not taken, by the group home caused the terrible outcome in this case," said a DCS spokesperson last week. "We have opened a licensing inquiry to determine whether appropriate steps were taken by the group home during this incident."
The investigation into Pike's death is still ongoing. The Gila County Sheriff's Office told ABC15 on Wednesday that there are still no suspects in the case.
Our team did request an on-camera interview with the Gila County sheriff, but we were told he would not be doing interviews on Pike's case at this time.
"We also are offering a $75,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of whomever committed this horrific act," said Chairman Rambler. "And we also encourage others that want to donate, to please, you know, donate, and we just want this person caught."
An overnight wake in Pike's honor will begin on Friday. Services for the teen will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. and will start at San Carlos High School.
The Pike family said if people would like to donate flowers they can through Anna's Petals in Globe.
