We Are Resilient: An MMIP True Crime Podcast

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/disappear...

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...

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-blackf...

**Listener Request**

In 1972, 20-year-old Jeannette Kamahele disappeared while hitchhiking near the Cotati onramp of Highway 101 in Santa Rosa, California. Last seen getting into a faded brown pickup truck, she was never heard from again. Though often linked to the Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders, Jeannette’s case stands apart as she is the only presumed victim never found.

This episode is part of our Lost Coast series, highlighting MM...

Trystan Benallie was a 28-year-old Indigenous mother of five, killed in a 2021 domestic violence shooting in Phoenix, Arizona. Despite having a protective order, she and a friend were murdered days after her abuser was released from jail on reduced charges. Her story exposes the deep failures in a system meant to protect survivors.

Sources:

https://www.abc15.com/news/crime/family-of-domestic-violence-shooting-victim-trystan-benallie-...

In 1999, there was no national spotlight on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. The movement, as we know it today, didn’t exist. There were no hashtags. No public campaigns. No national awareness.

That year, LaTisha Brien was murdered and for years, her family carried the weight of that loss alone. There was no justice. No recognition. No platform to speak the truth of what happened to her.

Now, more than two decades later, her lo...

In this mini episode, we share the story of Tara Lynn Woodman, an 18-year-old Diné woman who vanished in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2005. Tara had recently moved to the city after graduating high school, but months later, she stopped contacting her family. Her skeletal remains were discovered just days before she was reported missing, but it would take years and a sketch to finally identify her. 

Sources:

https://www.facebook.com/sh...

We’re joined this week by our very first guest—Brooklyn Brown, reporter for The Cherokee One Feather—as we visit the powerful and heartbreaking story of Dora Owl, a young Cherokee mother whose life was taken in 1947.

Through Brooklyn’s reporting and conversations with Dora’s family, we reflect on the generational impact of her loss and the importance of remembering the names and stories history tried to erase.

This is a story of sile...

In April 2023, Candrick Begay, 31, and his co-worker, Anthony McCants, 26, were working at the Highway 64 Auto Salvage in San Juan County, NM, when they were sent out to pull parts for a truck. They never returned. Both men were found murdered—and nearly two years later, their killer still hasn’t been caught. With no surveillance footage and few leads, their families remain trapped in grief and unanswered questions. In this episode...

A mother and daughter, murdered six years apart in Denver, Colorado—both cases unsolved, both stories forgotten.

No arrests. No suspects. No answers.

Why were their cases ignored? How does a mother and daughter get murdered in the same city, and no one talks about it?

If you have any information, contact Denver PD at 720-913-2000.

Sources:

https://apps.colorado.gov/apps/coldcase/casedetail.html?id=782

https://apps.colorado.gov/apps/coldc...

Fourteen-year-old Emily Pike, a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, was reported missing in Mesa, Arizona, in late January 2025. Weeks later, in February, her remains were discovered and later identified—confirming the worst fears of her loved ones. The details surrounding her death are horrific, and the outrage continues to grow as more information comes to light.

While we haven’t yet covered Emily’s case in full, we couldn’t st...

In 2016, 20 year old Mariah High Hawk was found under a trailer in Rapid City, South Dakota. Police ruled her death an accident, but her family saw bruises and believe otherwise. 

In this episode, we examine the inconsistencies, law enforcement’s response, and the larger pattern of MMIP cases dismissed as accidents.

Sources:

https://www.lakotatimes.com/articles/mariah-angel-high-hawk/

https://www.kotatv.com/content/news/High-Hawk-Famil...

Today marks five years since Jennifer Janelle Jesse, 30, was found murdered in Union City, Oklahoma. The case remains unsolved, but the OSBI just renewed its push for answers, offering a $10,000 reward and releasing images of a man seen at a Braum’s in Oklahoma City nine days before her death.

Could he hold the key to justice? If you have any information, call 1-800-522-8017 or email tips@osbi.ok.gov. Listen now for the latest updat...

In this episode, we share the story of Quana Big Spring, a 17-year-old from Kansas City, who remains missing. She was last seen on October 30, 2023, when she went out for a walk around 7 p.m. and never returned home. Quana, who is 5’4” and 125 pounds, has gone missing twice before—each time facing dangers that highlight the systemic failures in protecting Indigenous youth.

Her case ties into the national crisis of Missing and Murder...

In December 2019, 16-year-old Lacey Kaide Arkinson was killed in a hit-and-run on the Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana. She was struck by Shoshana Saddler, who had been drinking at a local bar and fled the scene without stopping. 

In this episode, we discuss her life, the failures of the justice system, and why Indigenous victims deserve better.

Sources:

https://hilinetoday.com/woman-sentenced-to-18-months-for-2019-hit-and-run-death-o...

In this powerful update episode, we revisit the cases of Mika Westwolf, Michelle Elbow Shield, and Aubrey Dameron, three Indigenous individuals whose stories we’ve covered and whose families have fought tirelessly for answers.

After a long legal battle, Mika’s killer has finally been sentenced, bringing a measure of justice to her loved ones. Meanwhile, Michelle and Aubrey, who had been missing for years, have been found and identif...

In 1980, 10-year-old Michael Gann vanished without a trace from his home in Oklahoma. Despite efforts to find him, his case remains unsolved, leaving behind decades of unanswered questions. What happened to Michael that day? How did a young boy simply disappear? 

The lack of records, media coverage, and investigative updates isn’t unusual, it’s something we see far too often in cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous people....

In this episode of We Are Resilient, we delve into the mysterious disappearance of Calvin Willie Martinez, a 31-year-old Navajo man who vanished without a trace in 2019. As questions mount and answers remain elusive, Calvin’s family’s fight for the truth reveals both the heartbreak and strength of a community refusing to give up. What happened on that fateful day?

Sources:

https://charleyproject.org/case/calvin-w...