Arizona governor signs ‘Emily's Law' to alert when Native Americans go missing

PHOENIX — Arizona's governor on Tuesday signed legislation to create an alert system for Native Americans who have gone missing in the state, a measure that won unanimous approval from lawmakers in the wake of the disappearance and death of a San Carlos Apache teen.

With Gov. Katie Hobbs' signature, Arizona becomes the latest state to join a movement that began in 2022 in Washington state to use alert systems to quickly share information about cases involving Native Americans.

Colorado, California and other states have adopted their own versions of such systems. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently signed what is known as ''turquoise alert'' legislation, and North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong approved a ''feather alert.'' The alerts take their names from items that hold spiritual and cultural significance to Native Americans.

Arizona's "turquoise alert" legislation is also referred to as ''Emily's Law'' to honor Emily Pike, whose remains were found Feb. 14 more than 100 miles (161 kilometers) from a group home she left in Mesa, Arizona, in late January. Pike's death spurred a resurgence of activism aimed at bringing more awareness to the disproportionate number of disappearances and violent deaths that have gripped Native American communities for decades, and prompted lawmakers to amend the bill to recognize her.

''It breaks my heart that we, the state of Arizona, didn't even go looking for this little girl. No one looked for her,'' said bill sponsor Rep. Teresa Martinez while on the House floor last week. ''We cannot let children go missing without somebody being alerted.''

Martinez's great niece is a member of the Gila River Indian Community.

The Federal Communications Commission voted last year to establish a new national alert code for delivering messages to the public via television, radio and wireless phones about missing and endangered persons cases.

The commission reported that in 2023, more than 188,000 people who fall outside of the criteria for Amber Alerts went missing, noting that the new code will be particularly beneficial to Native American, Alaska Native and Black communities. Those groups constitute 40% of missing people in the U.S. despite each making up much smaller percentages of the overall population, according to the commission.

States have various alert programs that cover cases that can include children, specific minorities, people with disabilities and older adults. California in 2024 rolled out ''ebony alerts'' to inform the public about missing Black youths. Supporters say there have been successful outcomes with that system but that law enforcement could be issuing more alerts for those cases that meet the requirements.

The Arizona legislation creates a rapid response system for issuing and coordinating alerts for people reported missing under the age of 65, including those who are members of federally recognized tribes, if law enforcement finds the individual could be in danger or missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances.

''Like my sister says, even though she's not here with us, she's still making a difference,'' Pike's uncle, Allred Pike Jr., said in an interview Friday.

Pike's mother, Steff Dosela, has told reporters that it took a week for her to hear about her daughter's disappearance from the group home. Lawmakers in the Arizona Senate are looking into Arizona Department of Child Services' group home regulations.

The FBI announced last week that it was offering a $75,000 reward for information that would identify the person or people responsible for the disappearance and killing of Pike, whose remains were recovered by Gila County sheriff's deputies on state land near the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. The reward is in addition to the $75,000 already being offered by the San Carlos Apache Tribe.

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Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico.