March 11, 2025
Warning: The following post contains graphic details. Reader discretion is advised.
On February 14, 2025, Emily Pike was found dead and dismembered in a wooded area near a Forest Service Road off US 60, northeast of Globe.
Emily, who was just fourteen years old, was part of the San Carlos Apache Tribe. The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation spans across Gila, Graham, and Pinal Counties in Southeastern Arizona. The San Carlos Apache Reservation totals 1,834,781 acres, including desert, alpine meadows, and ranges.
According to a 2016 study by the National Institute of Justice, 84.3% of Native American and Alaska Native women have experienced violence at some point in their life. 56.1% have experienced sexual violence. Murder, rape, and violence are higher than the national average, and Native American and Alaska Native women make up a high percentage of the missing and murdered.
The National Crime Information Center reported 5,712 missing Indigenous women and girls. The actual number is believed to be higher.
Emily Pike was last seen on foot on January 27, 2025, near Mesa Drive and McKellips Road, and was reported missing from the group home in Mesa she was living at.
On January 29, a missing poster was circulated online and in the local area. Emily was referred to as missing / a juvenile runaway.
On February 27, 2025, the Gila County Sheriff's department released a statement in which they announced that the body of a juvenile female had been found, stating the case was being treated as an active homicide investigation.
The Gila Country Sheriff's office stated they would be working in conjunction with the San Carlos Apache Tribal Police.
The teenager’s head and torso were found in large contractor trash bags, and her legs were found in a separate bag. The rest of her remains, at the time of writing, have yet to be located.
Preliminary autopsy results found visible trauma to the head and face.
According to various media outlets, it was a leaked Gila County Sheriff’s Office internal memo that described the brutal condition that the murdered teen was found in. The graphic description of what became of missing Emily Pike horrified social media users who shared the story like wildfire and called out for justice and better resources.
In an ABC Arizona report Emily's aunt described her as kind and always laughing.
She had more hobbies than she could count, and was a creative and artistic child. She loved the colour pink and was an animal lover. Like a lot of kids her age she also loved Roblox and K-pop.
Her loved ones said she was a sweet girl, who was quiet and intelligent, and said she had been looking forward to going to college in the future. She dreamed of becoming a veterinarian.
One of Emily's cousins, 15-year-old Jadyn Palmer, said she spoke with Emily on the phone weeks before she disappeared. Emily revealed that she would be back at the reservation within the month and they made plans to hang out together when she returned. They would never speak again.
Following the news of the discovery of Emily's remains, the Indigenous community came together to highlight awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women and children.
Hundreds of people attended the candlelit vigil in memory of Emily Pike. The event was held close to her last known whereabouts.
Words from a poem featured on an online poster inviting people to the prayer vigil read: "I give you this one thought to keep, I am with you still, I do not sleep. Do not think of me as gone, I am with you still, in each new dawn."
The Governor of the Gila River Indian Community, Stephen Roe Lewis, who spoke at the vigil said: "We have to remember, the system, the system failed Emily and has failed so many of our relatives. We can't let one more Emily die in such a violent way."
Attendees, many wearing the colour red, and some with red handprints over their mouths, chanted Emily’s name, and social media users have been sharing the story along with the hashtag #justiceforemilypike to bring attention to the case as well as the disproportionate number of native women and girls who are missing and murdered.
Many attending the vigil spoke of their own murdered and missing family members whose whereabouts remain unknown, and whose murders have been left unsolved.
Attendees held signs with the words: "No more stolen sisters" and "protect Indigenous children."
According to nativehope.org: "The red hand symbolizes the connection between the physical world and the spiritual world. Native Americans believe that the dead can see red, so by wearing red we invoke the help of our ancestors and spiritual guides."
Nativehope.org is an Indigenous engaged project who works with the community to educate others on Indigenous history as well as the injustices suffered by many in the community.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs and FBI have since joined the investigation.
At this time, no suspects have been identified in the murder.
