The FBI is offering rewards of at least $25,000 in dozens of unsolved killings and missing-person cases in Native American communities, hoping more money will persuade people to come forward with information. The new minimum applies to more than 50 cases in Indian Country. Most are less than a decade old, but an analysis found about a dozen have remained unsolved for more than 20 years.
For families who have spent years waiting for answers, however, money alone may not break through longstanding fear and distrust of federal authorities. The FBI investigates federal crimes on nearly 200 Native American reservations alongside the Bureau of Indian Affairs. At the end of 2025, the FBI's National Crime Information Center listed nearly 1,500 active missing-person cases involving Native Americans, although not all fall under federal jurisdiction.
Among the cases highlighted by the FBI are 8-year-old Maleeka Boone, who investigators believe was struck by a vehicle on the Navajo Nation, and Emily Pike, a San Carlos Apache teenager whose body was found after she disappeared from an Arizona group home. Mary Kathryn Nagle, a Cherokee Nation citizen and attorney who advocates for families of missing Native Americans, said investigators can struggle to gain trust in tight-knit communities where witnesses may fear retaliation or distrust the criminal justice system. Still, she believes larger rewards could encourage some people to talk.
That hope is shared by Lisa Foster, whose longtime friend Mona Renee Vallo was found dead after a suspected hit-and-run along historic Route 66 in Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico, in 2022. His family said more calls followed, but they are still waiting for a breakthrough. The FBI declined to provide the AP with an update on the investigation.
Other families question whether even $25,000 is enough. Brothers Matthew and Philip Reagan of Ohio were killed on the Navajo Nation while traveling to California. Investigators believe their SUV became stuck in mud after GPS directed them off course near Sawmill.
Authorities say the brothers were shot multiple times while walking to find help. The FBI initially offered $5,000 for information, then raised the reward to $10,000. It will now increase to $25,000.
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