During Gov. Katie Hobbs’ ceremonial signing of “Emily’s Law” on Wednesday, an Arizona Department of Public Safety official confirmed the new Turquoise Alert will not cover runaways. That excludes children like the law’s own namesake, Emily Pike, a San Carlos Apache 14-year-old who was labeled a runaway before she was found brutally murdered in February.
The confirmation comes as Emily’s family and Indigenous leaders raise concerns about the label runaway, arguing searches for all children should be urgent. San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler called for eliminating use of the label altogether.
“We need to change the term runaway to just strictly missing,” he said at Wednesday’s signing. “That heightens the security. That heightens the response of everybody. It makes it more important.”
The Turquoise Alert is expected to be ready for use by the end of summer, Hobbs said on Wednesday. Once activated by a law enforcement agency in Arizona, the system will trigger notifications statewide to help locate missing people under 65 who wouldn’t qualify for Amber or Silver alerts.
“She should have been reported as missing”
Emily Pike had a passion for drawing and a deep love for her cat, Millie. She ran away earlier this year from a Mesa group home that she’d previously told police she didn’t feel comfortable living at.
Emily should still be here. That was the message her family delivered to Arizona lawmakers last week during a committee hearing about group homes.
Few people looked for her and many weren’t aware Emily was missing until she was found murdered on Valentine’s Day near Globe, more than 100 miles from where she disappeared in Mesa.
Her death shook communities across the nation and reignited public interest in the injustice of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, and the systemic failures stymying solutions. For Emily’s family, the pain over her loss is compounded by those failures, including labeling missing children as runaways.
“The group home, Sacred Journey, reported my Emily as a runaway; instead, she should have been reported as missing,” Emily’s mother, Stephanie Dosela, wrote in a statement read May 14 by a family spokesperson.”I believe that would have allowed local law enforcement to begin a more in-depth search.”
Emily’s uncle urged examining the label more closely.
“I hear two words, runaway and missing. Two little words that make a big difference on whether an investigation is done or whether they just sweep it under the rug,” Emily’s uncle, Allred Pike Jr., added. “Something that’s named after her wouldn’t have made a difference if she was still here, that’s something that we need to take a look at.”
Turquoise Alert won’t apply to runaway cases
Concerns over the label were reinforced Wednesday during Hobbs’ signing of House Bill 2281, or Emily’s Law.
The measure was introduced in January by Rep. Teresa Martinez, a Republican from Casa Grande, before Emily’s disappearance was widely known. When Emily was found murdered, her story was invoked to rally support for the legislation later renamed in her honor.
However, Arizona DPS Captain Thomas Neve said at Wednesday’s signing that runaway cases wouldn’t qualify for the new alert based on its current guidelines.
“As far as runaway goes, in and of itself, a runaway isn’t necessarily a crime or a suspicious or unexplained circumstance,” he said. “So if somebody decides to leave or go missing of their own volition … it wouldn’t necessarily qualify.”
“But again, if the circumstances are suspicious or unexplained, adding that to somebody who maybe ran away might actually, I would say, tip the scale to actually meeting that criteria,” he added.
Martinez argued Emily’s case would have qualified for the alert because she was in danger. However, there are no mentions of Emily being in danger in her most recent missing person report at the Mesa Police Department. She also didn’t meet the criteria for an Amber Alert, which applies only to abducted children and explicitly excludes runaways.
A similar issue arose earlier in the bill’s development when it initially contained an 18 to 64 age restriction that would have made missing minors, such as Emily, ineligible to receive the alert. After Arizona Luminaria reported on the discrepancy, lawmakers amended the bill to ensure it included minors.
A step forward
Emily’s Law was created in collaboration with Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis to specifically address cases of missing Indigenous people across Arizona. Several other states have implemented similar alerts to address the disproportionate rates of violence against Indigenous communities, which are often overlooked.
During the legislative process, the bill’s protections were expanded to cover any missing person under 65, so long as their case includes elements of suspicion and danger and the investigating agency has exhausted its resources. While the change makes the alert more inclusive, it also shifts focus away from its original purpose: To address injustice for Indigenous people who go missing or are murdered.
Still, many Indigenous leaders and advocates view the law as a step forward for their communities. Against the backdrop of flags representing all 22 of Arizona’s federally-recognized Tribal Nations, they gathered around Hobbs in the Arizona Capitol rotunda on Wednesday to witness the signing.
“This law won’t bring Emily back, but we hope that Emily’s Law, the Turquoise Alert system, will prevent another relative. Another child. Another teen. Another family member. And another tribe from suffering this same type of situation and loss,” Lewis said.
Arizona contributes $25,000 reward
Emily’s family attended Wednesday’s ceremonial signing. Her uncle, Allred, donned a red T-shirt with a picture of Emily and a red handprint that’s come to symbolize MMIP.
How to submit a tip in Emily Pike’s case
Call law enforcement
Gila County Sheriff’s Office:
928-425-4449 (Opt #1)
San Carlos Police Department:
928-475-1700
FBI Toll-Free Tip Line:
1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324)
Submit anonymously online
“It’s a good thing that an alert system is here for all of Indian Country, but the hard part is it’s named after my (niece), and she’s not here anymore,” Allred said, as Emily’s mother, Stephanie, stood quietly next to him with tears in her eyes.
“She was murdered. She was dismembered. She was tossed to the side of the road like she didn’t matter,” he continued.
As of Wednesday, no one was arrested in connection with Emily’s murder. Her family told lawmakers last week there are no suspects in her case.
Hobbs announced Wednesday the state would contribute $25,000 to the reward fund for anyone with information that leads to the person(s) responsible for Emily’s death.
The state’s contribution brings the reward in Emily’s murder to $175,000, which includes a reward of $75,000 each from the San Carlos Apache Tribe and FBI.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print.
