Staffing shortfalls stall federal probes of missing and killed Native people
A federal audit finds the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Missing and Murdered Unit faces staffing shortages, a backlog of hundreds of case referrals and families left without required victims’ services.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Peter Martin went missing two years ago from the Fond du Lac reservation in Minnesota. His family hasn’t stopped looking, but they say the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs investigation into Martin’s disappearance has stalled since the agent assigned to the case left the role in early 2025.