Fourteen-year-old Emily Pike vanishes after sneaking away from a Mesa, Arizona, group home, where she lives.
When she does not return, Mesa police are contacted, and she is reported missing.
Her mother is not informed until Pike has been missing for a week. Police say the group home must notify her case manager, who would then contact her family or tribe.
Authorities post her picture on social media, print flyers, and alert the media that Emily Pike is missing and may have run away.
Nearly a month after Pike disappears, the Gila County Sheriff’s Office reports that searchers found the remains of an unidentified female in a wooded area near U.S. 60, about 20 miles northeast of Globe, Arizona. The remains are difficult to identify but appear to belong to a missing Native American girl.
Within 24 hours, authorities confirm the remains are those of 14-year-old Emily Pike.
The Gila County Sheriff’s Office reports that detectives found the head and torso in large contractor trash bags, while the legs were in separate bags.
Investigators search the area but do not find the arms and hands. This information, intended for law enforcement only, is inadvertently shared with friends and family without warning.
A preliminary autopsy report notes visible trauma to Pike’s face and head. Authorities do not find clothing, jewelry, or identification with the remains. Investigators believe someone killed Pike elsewhere before dumping her dismembered remains. Her arms and hands remain missing.
The sheriff’s office says investigators recovered surveillance footage from Mesa, where Emily was last seen alive, but have not found footage from the rural area where her remains were discovered. Officials urge anyone with information to come forward.
A $200,000 reward is available for information leading to Pike’s killer.
Joining Nancy Grace today:
- Allred Pike Jr. - Uncle to Emily
- Mary Kim Titla - Executive Director of UNITY (United National Indian Tribal Youth Inc.), Native American Youth advocate for over 30 years, Former TV News Broadcaster and First Native American TV Journalist in Arizona; Instagram @marykimtitla, X @MKTitla
- Dr. John Delatorre - Licensed Psychologist and Mediator (specializing in forensic psychology); Psychological Consultant to Project Absentis: a nonprofit organization that searches for missing persons; X, IG, and TikTok - @drjohndelatorre
- Jon Buehler - Former Detective for Modesto Police Department, California; Lead Detective in the Scott Peterson Case
- Dr. Kendall Crowns - Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth), Host of Podcast "Mayhem in the Morgue”, Lecturer: Burnett School of Medicine at TCU (Texas Christian University)
- Susan Hendricks - Journalist, Author: “Down the Hill: My Descent into the Double Murder in Delphi;" IG @susan_hendricks X @SusanHendicks
- Dave Mack - Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories'
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