GREAT FALLS — The Montana Department of Justice on Tuesday released a report highlighting three years of data on missing persons across the state.
The report highlights several key points:
1. Nearly 81% of individuals reported missing in 2017-2019 were under the age of 18.
2. There is no significant difference between the number of females and males reported missing.
3. Most missing person reports represent people who have been reported missing more than once.
4. Missing juvenile data indicates a strong correlation between childhood trauma and children ages 0 – 17 who were reported missing.
5. Big Horn County had nearly double (per capita) the number of missing persons than the next highest county.
6. Most autopsied missing persons were adult males.
7. Nearly half of the deaths of those autopsied (19 of 42) were deemed accidental. Only 17% were deemed homicides conclusively.
8. Most people reported missing are found. An overwhelming number of people who appear in the missing persons clearinghouse are ultimately found or the case is otherwise closed. Out of the 3,277 individuals entered in the system in the three-year period of this review, 97.7% of the individuals were located/recovered.
9. Tribal reporting has become more accurate. With several tribal communities, it appears more accurate reporting on missing persons began around 2019, which is why there is a spike in cases reported for that year compared to the previous two years.
The data was released ahead of a Thursday presentation before the State-Tribal Relations Interim Committee. According to the Montana Department of Justice, the data analysis is part of a multi-phase project. The report states that this is only Phase I of the MT DOJ "deep-dive" into the issue of missing persons, especially missing indigenous persons. The report says: "Rather than hastily craft solutions based upon data that can be further developed and analyzed, the MTDOJ will use this information as the basis for determining the direction of Phase II."
Immediate next steps include sharing the information with tribal entities, the Montana Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force, and state and federal policymakers. Further steps during Phase II may include, but would not be limited to, looking deeper into active cases from the past three years, education records, youth court records, as well as looking at how substance abuse, crime, and poverty may contribute to the issue.
Tuesday is also the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and the birthday of Hanna Harris. Harris was found murdered on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in 2013. Hanna's Act, a law passed by the 2019 Montana Legislature, is named after her. The law created a special position in the Montana Department of Justice to investigate all missing persons cases in the state.
