Families searching for loved ones bring criticisms of law enforcement to first Missing in NM Day

Rose Yazzie said it’s been months since she heard any news about her daughter, Ranelle Rose Bennett. She disappeared in 2021.

Vangie Randall-Shorty is also awaiting a call with new information about her son, Zachariah Juwaun Shorty, who was killed in 2020.

Two mothers bound by trauma found themselves in front of the top FBI agent in New Mexico, discussing their children’s cases after struggling to navigate a criminal justice system that is moving slowly, if at all.

The last time Rose saw Ranelle, she told her to come over to decorate her daughter’s birthday.

“And she said, ‘I’m going to be up there, mom, because I’m never going to miss my daughter’s birthday,'” Rose said. “Then we hugged. She hugged me for a long time. I still remember that hug. And she had a little bit of tears in her eyes, but I didn’t think anything of it until I drove off. And then I wondered why she held me for so long.”

The New Mexico Missing Persons Day event on Saturday in Albuquerque was designed in part to bring law enforcement face-to-face with individuals like Yazzie (Diné) and Randall-Shorty (Diné), many of whom have criticized their work investigating missing persons or murder cases. The very first meeting succeeded in this way.

Families of missing persons in NM can request law enforcement action on Saturday

The two women spoke directly to Raul Bujanda, the FBI special agent who runs the Albuquerque field office, and they not only outlined the investigation’s timeline, but also outlined key flaws they saw during the process.

Yazzie told Bujanda that it took Navajo Nation police more than two weeks to complete the missing persons report and more than a month to visit the home where her daughter was last seen on June 15, 2021.

Yazzie said her daughter went missing for the first few weeks: “I spoke to the detective and he said there was nothing in the system about it. So another week went by and he said still nothing.”

She is also upset that the person Ranelle last dated was arrested under a federal order on an unrelated case, and she has yet to be told if that person is a suspect in the disappearance.

Vangie Randall-Shorty spoke about months of delays in determining the circumstances of her son’s death. She also checked for updates on the $10,000 reward the FBI is offering and was looking for information about an arrest.

To top it off, she also provided a list of 15 missing people collected from families in the Four Corners area – hours by car from Albuquerque – who are also looking for information.

“You can’t be here,” Randall-Shorty said. “Someone has to be her voice. I am not only the voice of Zachariah, but also the voice of other families.”

Bujanda said the FBI will review the cases and respond to the families “within a month.” Because for me they must have some kind of answer.”

“It brings it home and makes it real,” he said. “If it was your family that disappeared or something worse happened, right? You were murdered and you knew what happened. And it’s been years and you haven’t had a closure. I don’t want this for me, I wouldn’t want this for you. And don’t I want that for you?”

Both Yazzie and Randall-Shorty were relieved to hear that they would be getting feedback from the FBI within a month.

“I’m glad they’re finally listening and realizing this is happening,” Randall-Shorty said. “I hope that this will continue, and not just today.”

What comes next for elected officials and law enforcement leadership is being outlined in various studies and publications, such as: B. The Strategic Plan of the State Task Force on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives.

The reform proposals reflect what people like Randall-Shorty, Yazzie and other families have been saying for years: There are problems with consistent communication about active investigation, compassionate and non-discriminatory policing. and a solution to the jurisdictional issues that impede justice in these cases.

“It’s just all back and forth,” Yazzie said, between federal agents and tribal police. “They just toss it around,” she explained, with each agency saying it was waiting to hear from the other before acting.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said during her opening remarks for the event, “Fragmented jurisdictions and issues only exacerbate obscure issues.”

“‘We can’t really put it together. And while we could argue today, and I hope you will, we need to fix this system of jurisdiction where it’s too complicated,” Lujan Grisham told a room of state, local, county, federal and federal law enforcement agencies tribal offices .

Bujanda said the FBI is working to train local law enforcement agencies in technological tools that can be useful in agency-to-agency communications. He pointed to the FBI’s lists of active missing persons cases in New Mexico and the Navajo Nation as a tool that benefits from authorities speaking to each other effectively.

Jurisdiction issues are a serious and frequent hurdle for Native American communities reporting crimes. However, New Mexico Missing Persons Day was instituted for all cases of active missing persons in the state. According to the state police, 984 cases are currently being investigated.

The event brought together so many people that Lynn Trujillo of the state’s Department of Indian Affairs is already discussing a larger venue for next year.

“If it’s bigger, that means more partners are getting involved. And it means more families and communities trust us to come out and share their stories and get answers,” Trujillo said.

Her serious work on this issue began with the creation of the state MMIWR Task Force. This group — made up of more than 30 people from tribal nations, victim advocates, attorneys, law enforcement officials and members of the public — recommended that the state hold an annual Missing Persons Day in New Mexico. A corresponding measure was passed by the legislature this year and came into force in February.

In addition to law enforcement, the event also connected families with mental health resources.

justice for family members

It is evident that a positive outcome of all the task force’s work and events like the one Saturday is the community it builds among people facing similar challenges and personal losses.

For example, Yazzie said she wasn’t aware of the extent of the problem with reporting missing persons cases until she sought help with her daughter’s case. She has found some relief from others who are struggling by sharing experiences and uniting for the same cause.

“It really helps to talk to people,” she said, “to know you’re not the only person going through this.”