MT MT - Arden Pepion, 3, Blackfeet Reservation, 22 Apr 2021 *Reward* *Guilty*

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I think having federal agents on board will result in more action - not necessarily searches. Publicity in general helps with searches, and while WS is just one small piece, I think local law enforcement starts to feel the pressure from people who live locally.

Let us know what we can do to help.
 
@10ofRods yes local LE is really an issue; the lead investigator for the case is related to the man who was with Arden when she went missing! It boggles the mind. I feel that there is a chance at some justice now, as long as evidence has been preserved. I know that proving what happened is difficult until Arden is found, but if cameras from the casino picked up anything, that will be a huge help as leaving the scene of a missing toddler to wait around for your girlfriend to finish work, before calling anyone for help, is 100% unforgivable and suspicious!!
 
Knox said:
Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services

BLES is requesting for volunteer searchers to please sign in with Sgt. Vielle at the command post on Joe Show Rd E just above Tj Show’s residence before searching. This is a coordinated effort and we need to maintain locations of all searchers.

Please be aware of the weather conditions, terrain, and wild animals. Volunteer searchers must be 18 years and older and sign waivers.
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Just backing up what I've said for anyone new here. Hahaax Vielle admits to being alone with Arden when she disappeared. Sgt Vielle was in charge of the investigation before the feds. I can't say much more without breaking rules here.
 
Beans said:
Oh about blimmin time too! Are we allowed to sleuth them now they’ve been named? I have things to say. Many things to say.
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Come back, Beans!

We can talk about Hahaax and Kimberly now that they've been charged, as I understand it. How do we feel about them being allowed to take Arden on a trip to Spokane WA? I don't know how foster care works there, but I would have thought that the woman who is legal guardian of the child has to take care of her; I hope that her childcare arrangements while she works are investigated fully. I really hope the other girls are safe now. There's so much we can't talk about here, and so many deleted Facebook comments that really shine a light on the situation. I hope the feds can tie it all together and get justice for Arden.
 
I'll talk to myself until Beans comes back :D Does anyone have a map with a point on where Arden was thought to be out shooting with Hahaax? I estimate the distance from Joe Show Rd E to the casino to be around 18 miles. It was snowing that night, heavily. Accounts vary as to when Arden disappeared, with the first Facebook post asking for local searchers said 4PM if I remember correctly, then others say 7PM. Despite the snow, it was hours later before LE were informed - did Kimberly get off her late shift at 10? How many local people who joined the search before LE got involved walked around that initial site? How on earth was a bootprint found in the snow, if hours had passed and snow had fallen in the meantime? I think the Feds will solve this pretty quickly, or I hope so.
 
CrikeyM8 said:
I'll talk to myself until Beans comes back :D Does anyone have a map with a point on where Arden was thought to be out shooting with Hahaax? I estimate the distance from Joe Show Rd E to the casino to be around 18 miles. It was snowing that night, heavily. Accounts vary as to when Arden disappeared, with the first Facebook post asking for local searchers said 4PM if I remember correctly, then others say 7PM. Despite the snow, it was hours later before LE were informed - did Kimberly get off her late shift at 10? How many local people who joined the search before LE got involved walked around that initial site? How on earth was a bootprint found in the snow, if hours had passed and snow had fallen in the meantime? I think the Feds will solve this pretty quickly, or I hope so.
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Was it snowing when they were reportedly out shooting the gun?
 
JUL 28, 2021
Rewards offered in the cases of Arden Pepion and Leo Wagner (krtv.com)
[...]

On Monday, July 26, the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council approved a resolution offering a reward of $10,000 in each case.

The resolution for Arden says: "The Blackfeet Tribal Business Council hereby establishes a reward in the amount of $10,000 for information leading to the location of Arden Pepion." The resolution in the Wagner case says the same thing.

Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services said during a news conference in late May that Pepion was last seen with her non-custodial uncle. Blackfeet Reservation Police Chief Jess Edwards said at the time that “based on the totality of circumstances,” officials do not believe Arden was abducted. A formal search lasted 10 days, but was only able to find footprints leading to the Two Medicine River and a boot believed to be hers in the river. The search since has since been scaled back, but people continue to volunteer to search for her.

[...]

$10K reward offered for information on location of Arden Pepion, Leo Wagner | Regional | kulr8.com
Three-year-old Arden Pepion has been missing from the Blackfeet area since April 22, when she and her uncle were reportedly practicing shooting near Joe Show East Road in the Two Medicine area.

Arden's Uncle HaHaax Vielle said he noticed Arden wasn't near him and saw her footprints leading to the river.


On June 16, Vielle and his girlfriend, Kimberly Higgins, were charged in connection to her disappearance.
 
JUL 29, 2021
Women continue search for Arden | News | cutbankpioneerpress.com
With so much of the area having been covered, Burd has narrowed things down to four places.

“If we could section the river off at low water, there are four deep parts with trees,” she said. “If we had 20 volunteers it would work.”

“We’ve got August through September for low water and good weather,” Belinda Bullshoe said. “We have about a month and a half of good weather to search so we need to get out there.”

Blackfeet Council offers $10k for info on Arden Pepion, Leo Wagner (greatfallstribune.com)
The disproportionately high rates of missing and murdered Indigenous people is a nationwide crisis, and experts say Montana is an epicenter. As of June 17, there were 189 active missing persons cases in Montana. Of those, 60, or 32%, were listed as Indigenous, though Native Americans comprise 6.7% of the state's population.

JUL 30, 2021
Blackfeet Tribe offers $10,000 rewards in cases of missing girl, man | KECI (nbcmontana.com)
The Blackfeet Tribe is offering two separate $10,000 rewards for information leading the location of Arden Pepion or Leo Wagner.
 
CrikeyM8 said:
@10ofRods yes local LE is really an issue; the lead investigator for the case is related to the man who was with Arden when she went missing! It boggles the mind. I feel that there is a chance at some justice now, as long as evidence has been preserved. I know that proving what happened is difficult until Arden is found, but if cameras from the casino picked up anything, that will be a huge help as leaving the scene of a missing toddler to wait around for your girlfriend to finish work, before calling anyone for help, is 100% unforgivable and suspicious!!
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This. The reservations are completely full of dual relationships. Everyone "knows" Everyone, and is usually related in some way. Which is part of the problem in many investigations.
 
Aug 28, 2021.

A 3-year-old girl's unsolved disappearance is highlighting the lack of resources available to Indigenous communities, where women and girls often go missing or are killed and never get any justice.

Arden Pepion went missing from a remote area on Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana in late April and still hasn't been found. The man babysitting Arden at the time claimed she disappeared while he was practicing shooting his gun near a river. He has been charged with negligent endangerment and child neglect. He has pleaded not guilty and is out on bond.

More at Babysitter of missing girl, 3, says he was practicing shooting gun when she disappeared
 
GuyfromCanada said:
Aug 28, 2021.

A 3-year-old girl's unsolved disappearance is highlighting the lack of resources available to Indigenous communities, where women and girls often go missing or are killed and never get any justice.

Arden Pepion went missing from a remote area on Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana in late April and still hasn't been found. The man babysitting Arden at the time claimed she disappeared while he was practicing shooting his gun near a river. He has been charged with negligent endangerment and child neglect. He has pleaded not guilty and is out on bond.

More at Babysitter of missing girl, 3, says he was practicing shooting gun when she disappeared
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The innuendos in the above article are offensive. More money and funding to find missing native women and children is not the solution. Nor is it constructive for the family of victims to blame outside response for lack of information about the disappearance of the victims.

Children go missing everyday, everywhere. And they are not found. It has nothing to do with where the child goes missing or the origin of the family.
 
Man pleads guilty in Arden Pepion case, will serve house arrest

Hahaax Vielle was sentenced to nine months, house arrest, for "Child Endangerment".

There is a lot I could say about this, because this child is dead. Not neglected or endangered. Dead. Yet, no charges. Because they kept it in BIA court. Rather than federal charges. Happens all of the time.

This is the value placed on a little girl on the reservation. Less than a year of house arrest. Less than a year.
 
mickey2942 said:
Man pleads guilty in Arden Pepion case, will serve house arrest

Hahaax Vielle was sentenced to nine months, house arrest, for "Child Endangerment".

There is a lot I could say about this, because this child is dead. Not neglected or endangered. Dead. Yet, no charges. Because they kept it in BIA court. Rather than federal charges. Happens all of the time.

This is the value placed on a little girl on the reservation. Less than a year of house arrest. Less than a year.
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I think it was you that warned me this would happen upthread. I honestly thought you were wrong, they couldn't possibly sentence the loss of a child's life that lightly. What am I missing here?
 
Knox said:
I think it was you that warned me this would happen upthread. I honestly thought you were wrong, they couldn't possibly sentence the loss of a child's life that lightly. What am I missing here?
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They kept it on the rez, in tribal court. That is for misdemeanors. Any felonies are federal charges, with mandatory minimum sentences. The tribal council decides, with BIA police.

It is a system rife with nepotism, and potential for fraud/bribes.

And, the real problem I have with this, is that it underscores the larger problem of MMIW, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

If we include Arden in this population, as she is a "missing Indigenous woman (young)", it shows the value the culture places on these women.
 
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