Besalynn James went missing at the end of January. Her family is frustrated with law enforcement efforts.
www.cascadiadaily.com
May 3, 2025
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“I’m angry at the system, I’m angry at the FBI, I’m angry at the police … I’m just angry,” Bland said. “I’m just angry until I have justice for my baby sister.”
James, 62, was last seen on Jan. 21 at her house on the Lummi Reservation. She wasn’t reported missing until four days later, by the man she was seeing.
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Before the police called Bland to let her know James was missing, she walked inside her sister’s double-wide that Saturday to feed the dogs. Certain things were off. For one, the house was clean and her “homebody” sister wasn’t home.
“We all have dust mites and dog hair,” she said, noting her sister typically had stuff on end tables and the couch. “It was cleaned up.”
In James’ room, Bland found the black jacket and white tennis shoes her sister was reportedly last seen wearing. Rather, Bland believes James was wearing the Native-style jacket she got at Costco when she was last seen.
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James’ case is also featured on the Washington State Patrol list of missing persons database. However, she is not included in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUS), a federal database created to consolidate information about active and cold missing persons’ cases.
While Washington is required to put missing persons’ information in NamUS, a recent
National Public Radio analysis found 65% of the state’s missing people weren’t listed in the federal database. Fewer than half of the missing Indigenous people listed in WSP’s database in January appeared in NamUS
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“You have to read between the lines,” Noland said. “They told me things after the search, and I could piece it together. They’re looking for her body. It’s a recovery, it’s not a find. They’re not going to find her alive.”
Lengthy article. See link.
