Tulalip council members and tribal members watch as Governor Jay Inslee signs bill HB 1571 into law at the Tulalip Resort on March 31 in Tulalip. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Tulalip council members and tribal members watch as Governor Jay Inslee signs bill HB 1571 into law at the Tulalip Resort on March 31 in Tulalip. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Washington launches new Indigenous missing person alert system

It’s similar to an Amber Alert. Tulalip families of the missing have called the program a good first step.

TULALIP — It’s common for one or two Tulalip tribal members to be reported missing each month, according to Tulalip Police Chief Chris Sutter.

State highway signs will now alert drivers when an Indigenous person goes missing and is believed to be in danger.

At midnight July 1, Washington State Patrol launched the new Missing Indigenous Person Alert system. It will broadcast messages on signs and the highway advisory radio system. It will also notify all Washington law enforcement electronically.

It’s similar to an Amber Alert for children or a Silver Alert for seniors.

“We’re really trying to have a multi-prong, multi-dimensional approach to missing persons,” Sutter said. “Adding the … alert system is just another tool that we can add to our toolbox.”

The new notifications will say “MIPA” alert, said Carri Gordon, director of the Washington State Patrol’s missing and unidentified persons unit. If there’s a car related to the disappearance, the make, model, color, license plate and other identifying information gets shared.

Not every missing Indigenous person will trigger an alert. The system will only be activated if the person’s disappearance is unexplained, involuntary or suspicious; if there’s enough identifying information — photos or physical descriptors — about the missing person to help with their recovery; and if the incident has been reported to law enforcement.

In the future, these alerts could show up on people’s cell phones, Gordon said. The technology isn’t up to speed yet.

Tulalip tribal leaders, law enforcement and families of the missing have called the program a good first step. Many Tulalip families recall decades of grassroots efforts to find missing people.

State Rep. Debra Lekanoff, D-Anacortes, sponsored the bill to create the missing Indigenous person alert system, the first of its kind in the nation. Lekanoff is the only Native American woman serving in the state Legislature.

“Our sisters, our aunties, our grandmothers are going missing every day,” Lekanoff said. “As my good mentor, my auntie (Patricia) Lightfoot, tells us, it’s been going on way too long.”

The Urban Indian Health Institute in 2018 identified 506 missing and murdered American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls across 71 cities. Of those, 71 were in the state of Washington. Seattle had the highest number: 45.

Washington State Patrol reported 128 missing Indigenous people, as of June 13.

Today, Tulalip Police are equipped to deal with some of the “jurisdictional issues,” Sutter said, and many of the cases on the reservation are solved.

But many issues still persist, he said.

Not all organizations recognize tribal court warrants and subpoenas. Oftentimes cell phone records are helpful to track a missing person’s whereabouts, but sometimes those requests are denied, Sutter said.

“And that is a challenge that we currently are fighting and dealing with in one of our open cases right now,” he said.

One Tulalip tribal member has been missing since 2020. Mary Ellen Johnson-Davis’ last known contact was a text message around 2 p.m. Nov. 25, 2020.

While the alert system is a significant step, Sutter said, tribal law enforcement need lawmakers to secure more technical support and resources for their efforts. That could mean adding “preventative” measures like mental health care to help decrease peoples’ vulnerability. Or “having good laws to protect Native women from predators,” like the Violence Against Women Act, he said.

“We have far too many Indigenous, Native American people that are missing,” Sutter said. “These cases are very labor-intensive and many tribal law enforcement agencies don’t have the full complement of resources and detectives to fully work these cases. So having more resources … is a real positive thing.”

Isabella Breda: 425-339-3192; isabella.breda@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @BredaIsabella.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Olivia Vanni / The Herald 
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County.
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mukilteo mayor vetoes council-approved sales tax

The tax would have helped pay for transportation infrastructure, but was also set to give Mukilteo the highest sales tax rate in the state.

South County Fire plans push-in ceremony for newest fire engine

Anybody who attends will have the opportunity to help push the engine into the station.

Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring gives the state of the city address at the Marysville Civic Center on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Marysville council approves interim middle housing law

The council passed the regulations to prevent a state model code from taking effect by default. It expects to approve final rules by October.

x
State audit takes issue with Edmonds COVID grant monitoring

The audit report covered 2023 and is the third since 2020 that found similar issues with COVID-19 recovery grant documentation.

Bothell
Bothell man pleads guilty to sexual abuse of Marysville middle schoolers

The man allegedly sexually assaulted three students in exchange for vapes and edibles in 2022. His sentencing is set for Aug. 29.

Larsen talks proposed Medicaid cuts during Compass Health stop in Everett

Compass Health plans to open its new behavioral health center in August. Nearly all of the nonprofit’s patients rely on Medicaid.

‘Voter friendly’ election ballots set to go out for Snohomish County voters

Materials will include some changes to make the process easier to vote in Aug. 5 primary.

Community members gather for the dedication of the Oso Landslide Memorial following the ten-year remembrance of the slide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
The Daily Herald garners 6 awards from regional journalism competition

The awards recognize the best in journalism from media outlets across Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

Kathy Johnson walks over a tree that has been unsuccessfully chainsawed along a CERCLA road n the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on Thursday, July 10, 2025 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
How Roadless Rule repeal could affect forests like Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie

The Trump administration plans to roll back a 2001 rule protecting over 58 million acres of national forest, including areas in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie area.

Edmonds police officers investigate a shooting that occurred at 236/Edmonds Way Thursday in Edmonds, Washington. (Edmonds Police Department).
Jury convicts Edmonds man in fatal shooting of rideshare driver

After three hours, a 12-person jury convicted Alex Waggoner, 22, of second-degree murder for shooting Abdulkadir Shariif, 31, in January 2024.

Jake Goldstein-Street / Washington State Standard
Angelina Godoy, director of the University of Washington Center for Human Rights, speaks to reporters alongside advocates outside Boeing Field in Seattle on Tuesday.
Deportation flights at WA airport up dramatically this year, advocates say

Activists also say King County officials aren’t being transparent enough about the flights in and out of Boeing Field.

Smoke shrouds the hilltops as the Bolt Creek Fire burns through thick forest in 2022 on U.S. Highway 2 near Index. Members of the public can now view video feeds from artificial-intelligence-assisted cameras placed in 21 high-risk wildfire locations around Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Online feeds from WA’s wildfire detection cameras are now available

Members of the public can now view video feeds from artificial-intelligence-assisted cameras… Continue reading

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.