Indigenous missing person cases get researchers’ attention

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico task force charged with addressing missing person cases involving Native Americans is teaming up with researchers in Nebraska on a data collection project. The goal of the federally funded effort is to better define the scope of what many experts and activists have referred to as a silent crisis. Officials say the work began last week. One of the challenges for policymakers across Indian Country has been the lack of a consistent and sustainable system for tracking cases and their outcomes. Researchers at the University of Nebraska-Omaha will be using a model first developed for that state to address data collection gaps across multiple law enforcement jurisdictions.