Outcry grows over 28 missing or murdered Native American women in a Montana county as 16-year-old Selena Not Afraid is found dead

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Native Americans across the country have appealed for immediate and thorough investigations into missing or murdered women of the community, as the body of 16-year-old Selena Shelley Faye Not Afraid was found.

The Montana teenager vanished New Year's Day and was last seen at the eastbound Interstate 90 rest area between Billings and Hardin, Montana that afternoon.

Her discovery Monday morning makes her the 28th missing or murdered indigenous woman (MMIW) from Big Horn County since 1990, but she was one of 42 in the state of Montana where 152 people were missing.

'Native women have been dehumanized from the very beginning,' Desi Rodriguez-Lonebear, a demographer who grew up in Big Horn County told the New York Times. 'The law has failed us time and time again. We're tired of it. We're tired of our people dying, of our kids going to jail.'

The body of 16-year-old Selena Shelley Faye Not Afraid was found Monday. Her discovery Monday morning makes her the 28th missing or murdered indigenous woman (MMIW) from Big Horn County since 1990

The Montana teenager vanished New Year's Day and was last seen at the eastbound Interstate 90 rest area

The Sovereign Bodies Institute (SBI) board member spoke shortly before Selena was found dead.

Police said Selena was last seen leaving a vehicle near a rest stop after returning home from a party in Billings. They reported she was last seen leaving a disabled vehicle and walking into a field. 

Information from the FBI shared on January 8 described her as not dressed for the weather conditions.

The girl's mother Jackie Big Hair and father Leroy Not Afraid were desperate for her safe return and search teams scanned the area in hopes of locating her.

Amid snow blizzards, her family and community held candlelit vigils and took part in rallies outside the courthouse as the urged law enforcement to do more.

'We're here demanding it,' Selena's aunt Cheryl Horn told the Times. 'We're not being quiet. We're not leaving.'

A Department of Interior search team found Selena's body around 10.30am during a 'systematic grid search' of an area southwest of the rest stop she had vanished from.

Big Horn County Sheriff Lawerence Big Hair confirmed Monday afternoon that teen from Hardin was found about three quarters of a mile from where she went missing.

'Please keep Jackie, Leroy and their extended family members in your thoughts and give them the time and space to grieve and come to grips with this terrible loss,' he said.

The sheriff said the cause of death is being investigated but foul play was not suspected.

It's the latest in a spate of tragic MMIW cases.

It's the latest in a spate of tragic MMIW cases. According to SBI, which has created its own database of cases, in November 2019, 37 percent of missing girls were Indigenous. However Indigenous girls only make up 6 percent of the population

Mother-of-six Bonnie Three Irons was found dead in the mountains in April 2017.

Henny Scott, 14, was repeatedly reported missing by her family in December 2018 but it took weeks for a public bulletin to go out. She was found dead two weeks after she vanished.

Her great-grandmother Rose Old Bear was murdered in Hardin in the 1950s, her great-aunt Harriet Wilson was murdered outside Hardin in the 1970s.

Montana girl Kaysera StopsPrettyPlaces, 18, was found dead in a backyard near her home, four days after she went missing in Hardin in August. She had gone missing a total of nine times.

Selena's aunt posted a tribute on Facebook.

'We brought our baby girl home,' Horn said. 'Now she can Rest In Peace. Jackie and I want to thank everyone for helping us bring our girl home.'

She added that she will continue to seek justice for MMIW.

'I'm not done my girl!! I will continue the fight!!' Horn posted as followers commented supporting her fight for justice.

Police have been labelled negligent in the cases of MMIW or girls, and in some cases the perpetrators of violence.

In 2019, Fort Peck tribal police officer Mychal Damon, was charged with abusive sexual contact without permission, allegedly knowing the girl was under the age of 12. 

Police said Selena was last seen leaving a vehicle near a rest stop after returning home from a party in Billings. They reported she was last seen leaving a disabled vehicle and walking into a field

Cops had been pushed to investigate the people Selena was seen riding with in a van

'We brought our baby girl home,'  Selena's aunt Horn said. 'Now she can Rest In Peace. Jackie and I want to thank everyone for helping us bring our girl home'

Former Bureau of Indian Affairs police officer Dana was found guilty of raping a woman in her home on the Northern Cheyenne reservation in Montana in 2015.

The federal government dismissed two counts of lying to federal officers and chose not to prosecute him for sexual abuse, as part of a plea deal. The victim's attempt to sue was thrown out.

Selena's brother Preston was shot dead by Billings police officers; her sister Tristen was hit and killed by a car; and her twin sister died by suicide when she was 11 years old.

Cops had been pushed to investigate the people Selena was seen riding with in a van.

Crow tribe member and county prosecutor Jay Harris had said they were looking to create their own police force on the 2.3 million acre reservation amid a state of emergency regarding the investigations of missing women.

'Why does nobody care about this?' one of Kaysera's aunts said to the Times about the girl found dead this summer. The aunt, Grace Bulltail, an assistant professor of engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison added: 'We're not being given any information.'

Selena's aunt had compared the latest missing girl to Kaysera.

'This is the justice that Kaysera didn't get,' Horn said before her niece was found dead.

Mother-of-six Bonnie Three Irons (left) was found dead in the mountains in April 2017. Henny Scott (right), 14, was repeatedly reported missing by her family in December 2018

Montana girl Kaysera StopsPrettyPlaces, 18, was found dead in a backyard near her home, four days after she went missing in Hardin in August. Kaysera is pictured on a poster as the community asked for justice

Kaysera's aunt, Grace Bulltail (pictured), had said they were 'not being given any information' about the missing teen. Selena's aunt, Horn, compared the new case to Kaysera's before Selena was found dead

According to SBI, which has created its own database of cases, in November 2019, 37 percent of missing girls were Indigenous. However Indigenous girls only make up 6 percent of the population.

A 2017 Harvard Journal of Law and Gender report cites data showing that 'rural communities' such as those in Montana or North Dakota 'do not have the infrastructure, leadership capacity, or expertise to respond to the rapid social changes and population growth' creating the conditions for violent crime to flourish.

The SBI cites another study that found economic development has brought economic opportunity but it has meant an increase in violent crime, drug abuse, and sex trafficking of Native women and children. It adds that the rapid pace of oil and gas development 'overwhelms the existing law enforcement and social services infrastructure on many reservations'.

SBI takes into account cases from 1900 to the present day, but notes 69 percent of the cases have occurred since 2000.

In the Northern Plains, including the Dakotas, Montana, and Nebraska, 411 MMIWG went missing or were killed in those states, or who come from tribal nations in these four states. Four out of five cases remain unsolved with no arrests.

Between 2017 and 2019, there were approximately 30-40 cases per year, not including cases where the missing person was safely located.

SBI estimates the number to be more like 3,500 to 4,700 since 1900.

Selena's brother Preston was shot dead by Billings police officers; her sister Tristen was hit and killed by a car; and her twin sister died by suicide when she was 11 years old