AZ - 16-year old indigenous girl found dead less than a mile from her home - WHITERIVER, Nov 2025

[Clearsky]

Missing White Mountain Apache teen found dead in eastern Arizona

The remains of missing 16-year-old Challistia Colelay were found in Whiteriver and the case is being treated as a homicide.

www.azfamily.com

Detectives said the remains belong to Challistia Colelay, 16, who was reported missing to White Mountain Apache police on Oct. 27. They haven’t specified what led them to believe the young girl was murdered, or how they were led to where they found her body.

 

[tlcya]

"She loved art, and drawing, and painting," said Woodard. "She loved the outdoors, like fishing and camping. And I got to see videos and photos and meet her amazing, beautiful family."
Federal agents conduct search in Challistia Colelay homicide investigation

Woodard questioned the public awareness raised for Challistia's case, concerned that she may have been incorrectly labeled as a runaway. "I think that there's a lot of communities that aren't reporting their people missing and that's the first step is to make sure that everybody is being reported in the same way," Woodard said.

Woodard, who believes the term "runaway" should never be used in connection with missing children, added: "When a child leaves their house, this is a cry for help ... When a child walks out their door, we turn our heads to them. They're invisible and that needs to stop."
White Mountain Apache girl's death fuels concerns over missing persons protocol

Beautiful girl Prayers for her loved ones. Far too often indigenous people are invisible in cases like this. I wish her case had been taken more seriously by those who could have done more. should have.

 

[lucygoose]

A full DPS statement regarding this can be found in this article. It's sad to see there were failures throughout many steps. From classifications of "runaway" to a failure to issue a BOLO or Turquoise alert, CC was robbed of a timely response. While it is unfair to judge the responsiveness of law enforcement agencies involved, it feels as though indigenous populations continuously receive this lack of action. I hope that just because she had two other prior missing person cases, this was not automatically pushed to the side.

Full DPS statement:

"To clarify, the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) does not independently initiate or investigate missing person cases. Once an investigating agency determines that a case meets statutory criteria, it is the responsibility of the agency to contact DPS, to request an alert activation, and follow standard procedural protocol through filing a missing person’s report, notifying DPS through the submission of an alert activation request packet, as well as a flyer or Be on The Lookout (BOLO), containing information of the missing person, for public dissemination. Without a formal request for the investigating agency, DPS has no lawful or operational basis to activate or assess individual cases. We review all requests for compliance and, if approved, coordinate statewide activation.


This is the first time our Department has been made aware of this specific case. After reviewing our Arizona Missing and Exploited Children’s (AMEC) database, the juvenile in question had two prior missing person cases filed in October of 2024; however, both of those cases were closed. For awareness and understanding, this database contains limited information as entered by the investigating agencies and do not include the detailed investigative context required to determine if alert criteria are met. No formal request was made for a Turquoise Alert by the investigating agency.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety remains committed to supporting every law enforcement agency across Arizona, ensuring all qualifying cases receive the full level of assistance available under Arizona Law. If a local, county, or tribal agency believes a case may meet the Turquoise Alert criteria, the DPS Duty office is available 24/7 to consult and assist with review and activation when warranted."

 

[borndem]

Welcome to Websleuths,
lucygoose !!​

 

[Knox]

Family: White Mountain Apache police did not report missing teen to other agencies

An advocate for the family of a 16-year-old found murdered earlier this month is criticizing White Mountain Apache police for their handling of the girl’s missing persons case.

www.kjzz.org

 

[Knox]

Poor Tia, she was failed in many ways, not just the lack of an alert. Who had she been communicating with?

I completely agree about the use of the label "Runaway", I hate seeing that in a case description. It downplays the danger and urgency to the public to help locate a child.