CA CA - Emmilee Risling, 32, near Pecwan, Humboldt Co, 11 Oct 2021 *Reward*

[Protectwomenandgirls]

Emmilee Risling, like many other missing Indigenous people across the country, still has not been found.

Risling, a 33-year-old mother of two who is a member of the Hoopa Valley Tribe — as well as a descendant of the Karuk and Yurok tribes — was last seen leaving a friend’s house in the Pecwan area on foot on the morning of Oct. 14, 2021 and reportedly was en route to Klamath. Last weekend, a large-scale three-day search was conducted on Yurok tribal lands for Risling including the first-time use of cadaver sniffing dogs.

More at Search for missing Humboldt County Indigenous woman continues

“There needs to be a task force developed of many different state and federal agencies that have a focus on addressing these missing and murdered cases. A lot of these cases happen in really rural and remote areas, and there’s just not enough dedicated resources that are out on the ground, following up on needs, and working these cases for the amount of time and space that needs to be covered. If there was an inter-agency task force developed with state, federal and local partners, and just the creation of more of a focus on these particular cases, and probably federal, state and local financial support that could support that work. This needs to be made more of a priority by legislators,” Davis said.
I'm so glad to hear that Emmilee's case is providing a platform for these essential demands. I hope she's found safe and soon

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Search for missing Humboldt County Indigenous woman continues

Risling, a 33-year-old mother of two belonging to the Hoopa Valley Tribe — though she was also descended from the Karuk and Yurok tribes as well — was last seen walking in a remote part of the Yuro…

www.times-standard.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“The Year 3 report offers a blueprint and tools for tribes to coordinate with law enforcement and justice system partners on the development of customized community response plans that meet their unique needs and circumstances,” George said. “Similar to my fellow co-authors, I know first hand the challenges that ensue when a beloved friend or family member goes missing. When we were writing the report, my dear friend Emmilee Risling went missing, which was/is indescribably devastating. Featured heavily in the report, Emilee’s case illuminates an urgent need for additional mental health and law enforcement resources in our rural area.”

The authors of the Year 3 report developed significant sections of the detailed response protocol based on the disappearance of Emmilee Rising and a recent, local abduction.

Emmilee was last seen on the Yurok Reservation in October of 2021. The Yurok and Hoopa Valley Tribes and their respective police departments, as well as the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and concerned community members have worked tirelessly to find Emmilee. Despite extensive search efforts, including a week-long deployment of 10 cadaver dogs, no signs of her have been uncovered. In her early 20s, the Hula woman graduated college and entered adulthood with all the promise in the world. A few years after she moved home to work for her Tribe, Emmilee’s life trajectory spiraled as a result of serious mental health issues and substance abuse.

To read the full report, please visit July 2022 Year 3 Progress Report | Home

Yurok Tribe's Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Report 'Offers Blueprint' to Tribes Working With Law Enforcement, Justice System

wildrivers.lostcoastoutpost.com

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Hoopa Indigenous woman Emmilee Risling missing one year

“Her case remains open and under investigation. Anyone with information related to Emmilee’s disappearance are encouraged to come forward and report that information to law enforcement,&#8221…

www.times-standard.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

In Indian Country, everybody seems to know somebody who's gone missing or been murdered. But one case hit particularly close to home for Greg O'Rourke.

As the police chief for the Yurok Tribe along California's North Coast, O'Rourke is responsible for investigating the disappearance of Emmilee Risling, a 32-year-old mother of two who was last seen in mid-October 2021 in a densely forested area along the Klamath River, not far from the Oregon border.

O'Rourke, 49, knows Risling's family well. She used to babysit his kids about 10 years ago, including his foster daughter, Charlene Juan. O'Rourke took Charlene in after her own mother disappeared.

Now, while he works on finding Risling, O'Rourke worries that Charlene could go missing, too.

Like her former babysitter, Charlene has struggled with addiction, domestic violence and mental health. O'Rourke fears Charlene is following the same road map that guided Risling and dozens of other women into a missing-persons file, a decades-long problem in Indigenous communities that traces back to white settler colonialism, a broken foster care system and the forced assimilation of Native children in the state's punitive boarding schools.….

One of the last places Risling was seen was near the Pecwan Bridge at the end of State Route 169, a forested area on the Yurok reservation along the river's stony path where locals anchor boats next to their salmon nets.

During a bus ride to school, the kid of one of O'Rourke's officers saw a naked woman on the bridge. The officer figured it must have been Risling, as she had a reputation for walking around in the nude. He looked for her the next day down by the river, but never found her.
By Oct. 16, Risling's family had grown worried. One of her cousins turned to a community Facebook page for help, writing: "If anyone has seen my lil cousin Emmilee Risling please let me know. She is NOT in her right mind."

She was declared missing two days later.

O'Rourke can't recall exactly how he learned that Risling was gone, but he remembers clearly what happened next. He called his officers together and told them that he was worried this wouldn't end well, and that they needed to carefully document everything they did during the investigation.

"We will be called to the carpet on this," he remembers saying.

Her mother disappeared. Then her babysitter. A lawman fears she might be next

McKINLEYVILLE, Calif. — In Indian Country, everybody seems to know somebody who's gone missing or been murdered. But one case hit particularly close to home for Greg O'Rourke.

www.swoknews.com

 

[JnRyan]

The Charley Project updated their page:

Emmilee Renea Risling – The Charley Project

Still ANOTHER missing Native American. No blue-eye, blonde 20 something here so this may take a while to solve. IF it is solved.

 

[Pennysmom1]

Oct 15, 2022

After one year, disappearance of Emmilee Risling still looms over North Coast

One year after her disapperance, the search continues for tribal member Emmilee Risling

krcrtv.com

April 17, 2023

'Where is Emmilee Risling?' Missing, murdered Indigenous women cases hampered by 50s-era law

We're looking into a largely unseen crisis in California - the growing reports of missing and murdered Indigenous women. A little-known federal law passed in the 1950s may actually be hindering the investigations, leaving loved ones desperate for action and answers.

www.cbsnews.com

March 14, 2023 - archived article from The Los Angeles Times

https://archive.ph/dQ8qx

 

[Protectwomenandgirls]

Emmilee where are you? Thinking of you tonight

 

[Protectwomenandgirls]

Where is Emmilee?

 

[Unalienable Rights]

New article today. It's behind a paywall.

Who Is Searching for Emmilee Risling?

One of the last places she was seen is an area known as End of Road. More than three years later, she’s the face of a crisis: Missing and Murdered Indigenous People.

www.nytimes.com

Who Is Searching for Emmilee Risling?​

One of the last places she was seen is an area known as End of Road. More than three years later, she’s the face of a crisis: Missing and Murdered Indigenous People.

 

[Lilibet]

New article today. It's behind a paywall.

Who Is Searching for Emmilee Risling?

One of the last places she was seen is an area known as End of Road. More than three years later, she’s the face of a crisis: Missing and Murdered Indigenous People.

www.nytimes.com

Who Is Searching for Emmilee Risling?​

One of the last places she was seen is an area known as End of Road. More than three years later, she’s the face of a crisis: Missing and Murdered Indigenous People.

I managed to access the article. It is beautifully written, showing the bureaucratic difficulties faced by those searching for Emmilee. The California North Coast is like a black hole for the missing, indigenous or not…but worse for the indigenous peoples IMO.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

https://www.facebook.com/nytimes/posts/pfbid0SPH4qSuvbS1rm6xcFPdNeLh9X1cigphycBFtmRQiTDoBVYkcP8MtHpethR4eWAJbl

“She was a superstar,” recalled her friend Blythe George. “Raising your hand, being an active participant, wanting to be the club president — that was kind of really considered white kid stuff. Emmilee not only did those things, she was better at them.” Ms. George would go on to receive degrees at Dartmouth and Harvard, but she remained enamored of Ms. Risling’s gifted mind.

Ms. Risling also felt a deep responsibility to preserve Native American culture and was a perennial figure at tribal ceremonies, known for dancing with an unassuming grace. Her singing voice, lilting and haunting, could move a crowd to lean in and listen.

A member of the Hoopa Valley Tribe, with Yurok and Karuk lineage as well, Ms. Risling had been raised in McKinleyville on the rural coast. The region is home to about a dozen reservations or rancherias where it is common to refer to someone as growing up either “on rez” or “out town.” The former meant you were accustomed to scant electricity and resources. The latter usually denoted middle-class aspirations and a better shot at upward mobility.

Well-spoken and striking with long, shiny hair and wistful brown eyes, Ms. Risling had been 15 when she ended up on the front page of The Washington Post for an article about the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian.

It did not surprise anyone when she earned several scholarships and went to the University of Oregon to study political science. Her graduation in 2014 was a distinct accomplishment. Only about 16 percent of Native American adults have bachelor’s degrees — less than half that of the nation’s average.

“She just really had a passion for anything she believed in,” said her younger sister, Mary Risling. “I always imagined her greatness and what was going to happen in her life. She was probably always considered the smart sister, you know, the one that was really going places.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/us/missing-persons-emmilee-risling.html?smtyp=cur&smid=fb-nytimes&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExcWcwVVdPa0ZHVjQzVmJ2ZQEeEWHFKVH19GyKntWiBOOz5kn9mCqGSvZNnIbbB-kK7lWLv7wRgCWpueun5UY_aem_LTYtwPpPHHWRiXnDtcF0dAkK7lWLv7wRgCWpueun5UY_aem_LTYtwPpPHHWRiXnDtcF0dA

 

[Lilibet]

Two local Humboldt news sites have articles about The NY Times article. The first one has a link.

New York Times Publishes Heartbreaking Story on the Search for Emmilee Risling

lostcoastoutpost.com

NY Times Highlights Local MMIP Crisis with Story about Emmilee Risling

This NYT article brings national attention to a local tragedy and honors Emmilee not as a statistic, but as a friend, daughter, sister, mother, and community leader.

kymkemp.com

 

[Protectwomenandgirls]

Thank you for sharing. I think of Emmilee often. We have to do better for our people, especially when they fall on hard times. No one should ever be alone