A 12-year-old Indigenous girl who walked out of her South Omaha home on Tuesday has not returned, and her family fears she was lured away by someone she met online.
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Ava Little Eagle disappeared without a word, leaving her grandmother and guardian, Cheryl Little Eagle, searching for answers.
"I keep thinking, well, she'll probably come back, you know, she just acting out or maybe trying to get my attention or so I think she's gonna come back," Cheryl Little Eagle said.
Cheryl Little Eagle describes her granddaughter as a good student who loves spending time at Healing Ribbons making ribbon skirts, dancing and playing in her school's band. She believes Ava was targeted by someone she was speaking to on Roblox.
"They lured her because she's a really nice person, you know, she's easy to talk to, she doesn't question anybody's motive about nothing," she said.
Family has experienced tragedy before
The disappearance is especially troubling because Little Eagle's brother, Neil Little Eagle, is also a missing Indigenous person. He vanished in 2017 and has never been found.
"It's been eight years this year. And when he went missing, it was on the reservation, so the police didn't look for him. Nobody looked for him," Cheryl Little Eagle said.
Data from the Nebraska State Patrol shows eight Indigenous females have gone missing since May, all under the age of 20, highlighting the broader issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.
Project Beacon Coordinator Lestina Saul said Ava's age puts her at greater risk.
"A 12-year-old on the street has no identification, no money, no resources to lay her head down at night or get her next meal so that sets her up as a target because if there's somebody driving around on the streets and they see an obvious young lady then they're probably gonna know if it's a predator that hey this person doesn't have a place to go if I offer her shelter maybe I can get her to do whatever I want," Saul said.
Community rallies to help
The community has rallied around the family, with prayer and canvassing from Healing Ribbons, Project Beacon providing resources, and Grace Johnson with Attorney General Mike Hilgers' office helping make flyers.
"Everybody's reaching out and doing what they can and for me that's really helpful because I don't know where to start. I don't know what to do," Cheryl Little Eagle said.
In 2019, the House passed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, which increased tribal prosecution rights for cases involving Indigenous people. However, Saul said they still have to climb over systemic hurdles to receive help.
"I think that you know when people kind of like rushed and rallied around her [Gabby Petito] missing and like there was all law enforcement was involved I wish that when Native Americans go missing that we had that same response," Saul said.
Resources available for victims
Saul said Project Beacon addresses human trafficking in American Indian and Alaska Native communities through education outreach and prevention work, case management and assistance to victims, providing safe spaces for victims to talk, and shelter assistance and referral services.
Cheryl Little Eagle said it's difficult to sit back and allow police to investigate, but she remains hopeful her granddaughter will return home.
Anyone with information about Ava's disappearance can report it to the Omaha Police Department by calling: 402-444-7867
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