The Federal Bureau of Investigation has increased the minimum reward for unsolved cases in Indian Country, a move aimed at generating new leads in dozens of cases that have grown cold over the years. The minimum reward is now set at $25,000, impacting over 50 unsolved homicides and missing-person cases, with a dozen remaining mysteries for decades, according to an Associated Press analysis.
Indigenous communities have long raised concerns about disproportionate violence, disappearances, and murders affecting Native women and girls. FBI Director Kash Patel announced the reward increase last week following the National Law Enforcement Partner Conference, which included more than 200 Tribal partners. The initiative, titled "Voices Not Forgotten," will affect several high-profile cases, including those of Angel Beach, Sa'wade Birdinground, Maleeka 'Mollie' Boone, Logan Warrior Goings, Mary Johnson (Davis), and Emily Pike.
The reward for Angel Beach's case was previously $10,000. Beach, 25, was fatally shot on the Muscogee Creek Reservation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on October 19, 2020, after an unknown assailant intervened in an argument she was having in a laundromat parking lot. Her killer was never apprehended.
Emily Pike vanished from her group home in Arizona last year and was later found deceased. Her case garnered national attention, renewing calls for greater focus on cases involving Native American women and girls. The FBI is now offering $75,000 for verifiable information identifying those responsible for her death.
Maleeka 'Mollie' Boone, 8, was reported missing on January 15, 2026, from her neighborhood in the Navajo Nation, Arizona. She disappeared while walking to a relative's house and was found dead the following morning.
Sa'wade Birdinground, 15, was last seen on October 6, 2024, at her family home on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana. Her reward has also increased by $10,000.
Logan Warrior Goings, 6, was shot and killed outside his home on May 5, 2022. The FBI is now offering $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. "The person who did it has been living with the fact that they murdered a 6-year-old child for the past four years," FBI Special Agent Matthew Vogel stated earlier this year.
Mary Johnson (Davis), 39, vanished on Thanksgiving 2020 while walking on the Tulalip Reservation in Washington. Her remains were discovered in a remote area in June of the previous year, with no arrests made. The FBI is offering $25,000 for information leading to arrests in her case.
Despite the renewed focus on these cold cases, some family members have expressed concerns that the increased rewards may not yield results. JoDee Carlow, daughter of Patrick Carlow Sr., who was found dead in his South Dakota home in 2023, noted that the $25,000 reward does not overcome the deep-rooted fear of reporting information to authorities within the Indigenous community. "It's not just on Pine Ridge. It's on every reservation," she told the Associated Press. Her sister, Lisa, added, "So to me it’s like, okay, what do you guys know that you’re not saying?"
Luana Ross, co-director of the Native Voices program at the University of Washington, echoed these sentiments, stating that residents might be reluctant to report information to a justice system that has historically underserved them.
The "Voices Not Forgotten" initiative is part of a broader effort to improve intergovernmental coordination between state, Tribal, and federal law enforcement. It stems from the 2020 Not Invisible Act, which established a commission to examine how to better serve Indigenous communities. Recommendations included expanding tribal law enforcement authority and enhancing communication with victims' families. The Department of Justice has also deployed numerous FBI agents and personnel to field offices near tribal lands, a move that reportedly led to over 200 arrests and convictions under Operation Not Forgotten, according to the FBI in May.
However, some observers note that an increased FBI presence on reservations can be problematic, particularly if agents lack experience in tribal communities. Michael Henderson, director of public safety for the Navajo Nation, told the Associated Press in May that more FBI manpower on reservations is not necessarily a good solution.
The steps taken to address these cases have increased national awareness of issues affecting Native Americans. On May 5, Indigenous people across the country participated in the national day of awareness for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples movement.