Operation Not Forgotten: FBI launches new effort to help solve crimes in Native American communities
FBI launches Operation Not Forgotten in Phoenix
FBI officials are launching an operation in Phoenix and a number of other cities to address unsolved violent crimes in Native American communities. They will be sending more agents to help investigate cases involving missing and murdered members of indigenous communities. FOX 10's Ashlie Rodriguez reports.
PHOENIX - The FBI is launching Operation Not Forgotten in Phoenix, with the federal law enforcement agency sending agents to help investigate unsolved cases on Native American lands.
What we know:
Operation Not Forgotten is not just coming to Phoenix: it is also coming to 10 other cities.
60 agents will be tasked with working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal law enforcement to generate new leads and bolster cases.
In 2025 alone, the FBI reported 4,300 open investigations in Native American areas, including 900 unsolved murders.
Big picture view:
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has said crime rates in Native American communities are unacceptably high. Her hope is by surging FBI resources and collaborating closely with tribal law enforcement, the Department of Justice will help deliver the accountability that these communities deserve.
There have been calls from Native American communities for something to be done about the hundreds of missing and murdered indigenous people, and those calls grew especially loud after the murder of 14-year-old Emily Pike, whose remains were found near US 60.
"For years, we have been quieted," said Reva Stewart with Turtle Island Woman Warriors. "We've been quieted. We've been murdered. We've thrown in the landfills. We've thrown in the desert. We can no longer have that."
It's a daunting task that local agencies are overwhelmed by. Besides lack of staffing, the sprawling desert also presents challenges. There are presumptions that criminals will bury their victims in remote areas.
"The whole concept of nobody is watching, we can do this, and they’re not held accountable. They can go back and do it again," said Stewart. "These could be repeat offenders that know what they’re doing and continue to do this, and target our women, target our children."
Local perspective:
In 2024, Operation Not Forgotten got some results, with investigators working on 300 cases, making more than 40 arrests, and identifying or recovering nine child victims.
The hope is a surge of FBI agents in Phoenix will be a deterrent to bad actors, and the resource that could help find Emily’s killer.
"When you see that and how horrible she was taken, we are going to be her voice," said Stewart. "If it takes a village of so many people, not just native people to give her a voice and not let this happen again, then we need to continue to do that."
Advocates also say while these surges are an essential investment, they should be made permanent.