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In September 2025, tragedy struck when 50-year-old Carly Elizabeth Johnson, an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, lost her life in Asheville, North Carolina. As investigators work to uncover the full truth, her story serves as another reminder of the ongoing crisis of violence impacting Indigenous women across the country.

Sources:

https://www.longhousefuneralhome.com/obituaries/Carly-Elizabeth-Johnson?obId=45520796

https://www.biltmorebeacon.com/news/suspect-charged-in-death-of-cherokee-woman/article_504e3434-a3b6-4495-aa2a-0e8f6b093d63.html

https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/crime/2025/09/23/morning-homicide-kills-1-i-26-east-asheville-police/86308443007/

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This listener-requested episode shares the story of Besalynn Mary James, a 62-year-old Lummi elder who vanished from her home in Washington in January 2025. But after a delayed missing person report and months of searching, her loved ones are left heartbroken and demanding answers.

Sources:

https://www.king5.com/article/news/regional/native-america/family-searches-for-missing-lummi-elder-washington/281-9350d811-245d-435c-bfaf-b81d0ed13fda

https://www.cascadiadaily.com/2025/jul/18/lummi-police-name-boyfriend-as-person-of-interest-in-missing-elder-case/

https://www.king5.com/article/news/regional/native-america/family-of-missing-lummi-woman-demands-justice-boyfriend-named-person-of-interest/281-8eda959e-2417-48d2-9d68-594034bbf6f7

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In April 2025, 22-year-old Corbett LaPlant of Browning, Montana, was killed when his vehicle was forced off the road. The driver who caused the crash fled the scene and is still walking free.

Corbett’s family has been met with silence and delays instead of answers. They reached out to us and asked for help making sure his name is not forgotten.

Sources:

https://m.facebook.com/groups/739188959270455/

https://www.montanarightnow.com/kalispell/new-information-released-on-brownings-second-fatal-crash-in-one-weekend/article_2f971595-2f1f-4aa5-8271-b6f775f6fc07.html

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On April 23, 2001, Velda Chimoni was fatally shot during a robbery at a Whataburger on West Indian School Road in Phoenix. Over two decades later, her case remains unsolved, and her family continues to seek answers and justice.

Sources:

https://silentwitness.org/cases/homicide-velda-chimoni-450-w-indian-school-road-whataburger/

https://silentwitness.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2001-4094-Flyer.pdf

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In 1983, 18-year-old Terri McCauley, an Omaha Tribe member and mother of two, disappeared in Sioux City, Iowa. Days later, she was found murdered and for over 40 years, her case went cold. In January 2025, a suspect was finally indicted. 

Sources:

https://www.ktiv.com/2025/01/13/man-arrested-1983-murder-terri-mccauley-sioux-city/?outputType=amp

https://www.iowapublicradio.org/ipr-news/2025-01-13/a-break-in-an-iowa-cold-case-more-than-40-years-later

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2025/01/15/man-arrested-for-1983-killing-of-sioux-city-woman-terri-mccauley/77692881007/

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Elijah Maney, 25, member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, was last seen after midnight on Aug. 10, 2025 entering the woods near 886 Lambert Branch Rd, Yellowhill Community, Cherokee, NC.

He is described as 5’6”, slim build, medium brown skin, brown eyes, long straight black hair. Last seen in black t-shirt over white, black jeans, black shoes.

If you have information regarding his whereabouts, please call the Cherokee Indian Police Department at (828) 497-4131 | Anonymous tips via Cherokee Police app.

Donations for the family’s search efforts (gas/food) can be sent to Elijah’s sister via:

Cash app: $RaePepion13

Venmo: @Raven-Pepion

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Tiffany Reid, a 16-year-old from the Navajo Nation, left for school in Shiprock, New Mexico and never made it. Days later, her belongings were found miles away. Twenty years later, her family is still searching for answers. What happened to Tiffany?

Sources:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna166378

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On the morning of January 25, 2022, in Tacoma, Washington, a 21-year-old Aidan Spear was on her way to rehab. She sent a message saying she’d be late. After that, she was never heard from again. This episode explores the silence surrounding her disappearance and how stigma and victim blaming continue to fail missing Indigenous women.

Sources:

https://charleyproject.org/case/aidan-victoria-spear

https://medium.com/@Dallymunoz/disappearance-of-aiden-spear-609ad6479c36

https://wsp.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Aidan-Spear.pdf

https://www.facebook.com/share/1AgobD4hL9/?mibextid=wwXIfr

https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/pierce-county-detectives-searching-for-missing-21-year-old-woman.amp

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Sahela “Shy” Sangrait is a 21-year-old Native woman from South Dakota who went missing in August 2024. Shy’s remains were found seven months later, and an airman from Ellsworth Air Force Base has been charged with her murder.

We break down what’s known so far, the ongoing legal process, and how overlapping jurisdictions continue to delay justice for Shy — and for so many families across Indian Country.

Sources:

Ellsworth airman pleads not guilty to murder of Sahela Sangrait

U.S. airman charged with murdering woman who vanished in August : NPR

https://kbhbradio.com/court-documents-show-second-person-charged-in-murder-investigation/

https://www.newscenter1.tv/update-ellsworth-airman-arrested-in-sahela-sangrait-case

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In this episode of We Are Resilient, we remember Jadie Butterfly, an Indigenous woman who was tragically killed on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana in December 2024, at just 19 years old. Her case remains open and her family is still waiting for answers.

This is a reminder of the strength it takes to keep fighting, even when the system remains silent.

Sources:

https://montanafreepress.org/2025/05/05/on-mmip-day-of-awareness-blackfeet-father-demands-justice/

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1Dzayoq2wp/?mibextid=wwXIfr

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