Gallup, New Mexico – A tragic and all too familiar tale of a missing person’s case turned into a gruesome murder has left the family of Philbert Shorty reeling, highlighting the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people across the United States and Canada.

It was in the winter of 2021 when Shorty’s family discovered his abandoned car stuck in the mud near the small community of Tsaile, Arizona. Reports say that his uncle, Ben Shorty, immediately suspected that something had gone wrong. An arduous two-year search followed, with the family combing remote canyons on the Navajo Nation, using radio advertisements and social media to try to gather any shred of evidence.

Sadly, they were unaware that Shorty had already been killed by then.

Last summer, U.S. prosecutors finalized a plea deal with Shiloh Aaron Oldrock, who admitted to being involved in Shorty’s death, as well as the murder and beheading of his own uncle. Oldrock revealed that after a night of heavy drinking and fighting, he and his uncle conspired to cover up Shorty’s death by dismembering and burning his body in January 2021.

The harrowing details of these crimes shed light on the widespread trauma, substance abuse, and violence that plague Indigenous communities. The lack of law enforcement resources and support programs only exacerbate the crisis.

Shorty’s case is just one among many, as high rates of missing persons and unsolved killings of Indigenous people continue to draw attention from policymakers. In response, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order in 2019, and Congress passed two key pieces of legislation in 2020 addressing the crisis. U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a staunch advocate for legislation on the matter, is now working to address the systemic problems and jurisdictional challenges that have long kept victims’ families feeling invisible.

The Interior Department, however, has yet to respond to a set of recommendations from a special commission aimed at tackling the epidemic. Despite the increased emphasis on solving such crimes, families like Shorty’s continue to grapple with the painful reality of their loved ones’ suffering and the lack of closure.

U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico Alexander Uballez acknowledged in a November sentencing memo that Shorty’s family had been “left in the dark about what happened.” They were only informed recently that Shorty was deceased, rather than just missing, further prolonging their grief.