‘We deserve to know what happened to her’: Families raise awareness for missing loved ones

YAKIMA – Loni and Benita Long grew up on the Yakama Reservation. They’re cousins but consider themselves sisters and supported each other through struggles with addiction and other challenges.

Benita was taking steps to become sober before she disappeared in the spring of 2022. In a letter to her sponsor, she wrote about generational trauma she experienced and how it impacted her life. She mentioned learning how to set healthy boundaries for herself.

A missing person flyer says Benita was last seen in Toppenish on March 26, 2022, when a relative dropped her off at the El Corral Motel on U.S. Highway 97. Benita was 40 years old then, stood 5 -foot-3 and weighed 130 pounds. She had short dark hair, wore gray sweats and a black hoodie and was carrying a black backpack.

Her cousin Loni said doesn’t know what happened to Benita, but knows she wanted to live.

“I know she wanted to be here,” Loni said. “I know something happened with Benita and I just want justice. That’s why I’m here today.”

She spoke about Benita at a gathering in Yakima to remember and honor missing and murdered Indigenous women and people. Cissy Strong Reyes organized the event at Wellness House with the nonprofit’s executive director, Lisa Kapuza.

“She deserves to be here; we deserve to know what happened to her,” Loni said. “She doesn’t deserve to be thrown away.”

Pain never goes away

The Thursday gathering was the second at Wellness House that Reyes and Kapuza organized. Reyes has advocated since fall 2018 for her sister, Rosenda Strong. Her sister, who was living with her in Toppenish, disappeared and Reyes faced multiple challenges in searching for Rosenda, including apathy from authorities, who said she was “probably out partying.”

Strong’s remains were found in an abandoned freezer outside Toppenish on July 4, 2019. She had been shot to death. Seven people were indicted in U.S. District Court in Yakima in connection with the murder of Rosenda and her alleged killer, Jedidah Moreno, on the Yakama Reservation.

Six of the seven have pleaded guilty in plea agreements, most recently Jamaal Antwan Pimms, who pleaded guilty earlier this month and will be sentenced in late May. Wilson Louis Hunt is set for trial in August.

“I’m just glad to see everyone here who took time out of their day to be here for families. I also want to thank Wellness House and (executive director) Lisa Kapuza,” Reyes said. Her brother, Christopher Strong, also attended and spoke.

Strong is among many Indigenous people who have gone missing, have been found murdered or died mysteriously on the Yakama Reservation in what is an enduring international crisis. Washington State Patrol’s most recent list of missing Indigenous women and people in the state includes 115 people. Of them, 33 people are missing from the Yakama Reservation and Yakima County.

It’s important to have families speak about their loved ones, Reyes said Thursday. She also works to help families in the best way she can. “We will stand with families,” she said.

No justice for mother and grandmother

Among families Reyes has worked with are relatives of Mona Renee Vallo, 56, who died on March 9, 2022, of injuries consistent with a hit-and-run crash, the FBI has reported. She may have been struck at approximately 7 p.m. on the date her body was found by passers-by on U.S. Route 66, New Mexico Highway 124, in Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico.

The FBI is offering up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Vallo’s death, her son Adrian Jackson said Thursday. He and his wife, Nahoma, and his siblings and many of their children have spoken at multiple events about the horrors of their loved one’s death and their frustrations in getting justice for her.

It was still light when she was hit and killed, and there were no brake marks on the highway to indicate the driver slowed down. His mother was hit so hard that she had to be identified by dental records, Jackson said.

“We’ve been to numerous events sharing our mother’s story,” he said. “We just need something to break the silence.”

Jackson mentioned the frustrating challenges of jurisdiction that often arise in cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people. He also stressed a greater need for regular communication and accountability of law enforcement. The FBI special agent in his mother’s case has changed three times in the nearly three years since she was killed, he said.

“It’s still pending without any answers,” Jackson said.

Anyone with information in Vallo’s death is asked to contact the FBI at 505-889-1300 or go online to tips.fbi.gov. The FBI poster is downloadable at fbi.gov/wanted/seeking-info/mona-renee-vallo.

Speaking about missing and murdered loved ones is re-traumatizing, no matter how much time has passed. But it’s important for Vallo’s story to be heard, Jackson said.

He also appreciated the attendance Thursday of students from Heritage University in Toppenish. Kaydence Visaya, a freshman at Heritage who is majoring in engineering, created a project honoring Rosenda Strong.

“This is an epidemic. This is a crisis ongoing,” Jackson said. “I’m glad we’ve got students hearing this.”

Resources and some justice

In the nearly seven years since Rosenda Strong disappeared, some authorities on the local, state and federal levels have worked to better respond to and pursue justice in cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people. Local agencies have created cold case groups, the Washington State Patrol has issued missing Indigenous person alerts, and federal prosecutors are charging more cases.

State Patrol has two tribal liaisons, who attended Thursday’s gathering along with other State Patrol officials.

Anna Olson and Emily Main are the tribal liaisons for Eastern and Western Washington, respectively. Main has been in her role for three months. Olson, who grew up on the Flathead Reservation in Montana and lives in Prosser, began in that position around three weeks ago. Olson previously was the first victim services coordinator for the Yakima Police Department.

Olson and Main are a resource for families and work with tribes and law enforcement and track data and alerts on missing Indigenous women and people in Washington. They explained those processes Thursday. The tribal liaisons are also involved with a state task force working on the issue.

They encouraged families to contact them any time for guidance, support and other assistance.

“If you ask us, we will come,” Main said. “If that is on Zoom; if that is driving, we will do our best. … If you can’t reach Anna, call me. We are in this together.”

Some families are getting justice for their loved ones. But as Katee Hunter said Thursday, it “doesn’t give back what we have lost.”

Her daughter, Anita May “Dawa” Lucei, was shot on the afternoon of April 13, 2022, in the New Addition housing development near Toppenish.

She was 15 years old. Silaz Elijah James of Harrah pleaded guilty to two federal charges and was sentenced in late March 2024.

James shot Anita after she confronted him over $20 he took from her boyfriend’s wallet, said Hunter, who was joined by daughters Amber and Megan. She raised her youngest daughter, and all five of her daughters, to stand up for themselves and what is right.

“We go every day with missing Anita. It’s hard having to go through every day missing her,” she added.