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Deb Haaland to create unit to investigate missing and murdered Native Americans
Jim Watson/AP
FILE - In this Feb. 23, 2021, file photo Interior Secretary nominee Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., speaks during her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. On March 15, the Senate confirmed her as Interior Secretary. (Jim Watson/Pool via AP, File)
By: Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News
Posted at 3:33 PM, Apr 04, 2021
and last updated 2021-04-04 18:33:09-04
In an effort to provide more resources to investigate thousands of unsolved cases of missing and murdered Native Americans, a new Bureau of Indian Affairs unit has been launched by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
Justice Department working with tribes on missing persons
MICHAEL BALSAMO and IRIS SAMUELS, Associated Press/Report for America
April 1, 2021
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1of3In this image from video, Ernie Weyand, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Person coordinator for the Justice Department in Montana, speaks at virtual news conference Thursday, April 1, 2021, announcing a development in the initiative. The Justice Department has finalized its first plan to help address the problem of missing and murdered Native people on one of the largest reservations in Montana. (Department of Justice via AP)APShow MoreShow Less
2of3Secretary of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland attends a Cabinet meeting with President Joe Biden in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, April 1, 2021, in Washington.Evan Vucci/APShow MoreShow Less
This article originally appeared on Undark.
Hundreds of thousands of people go missing each year in the United States. And, for more than a decade, law enforcement officers, medical examiners, volunteer sleuths, and families have been able to use the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs, to seek answers.
Established in 2007, NamUs offers public databases and free forensic services. Since its inception, according to the program s website, it has helped resolve more than 2,700 missing persons cases and identify more than 2,000 bodies. Tens of thousands of open cases remain in the system.
Advertisement: I can t imagine working without it, said Bruce Anderson, a forensic anthropologist at the office of the medical examiner in Pima County, Arizona.