Missing Lummi woman found alive in Las Vegas, aunt says
Reatha May Finkbonner, a Lummi Nation woman who had been missing since Sept. 3, has been found alive, her family confirmed late Thursday night, Sept. 23. The mother of two was found by Las Vegas police 20 days after her disappearance while on vacation in Las Vegas.
Finkbonner was last seen borrowing an unidentified woman’s cellphone outside of a motel. Her friends and fiancé, who she had gone to Las Vegas to marry, had to return to Washington state without her.
Her family filed missing person reports with the Lummi Nation Police Department and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and she was added to the Washington State Patrol’s list of missing Indigenous persons earlier this month, according to an earlier report by The Yakima Herald-Republic.
The family is grateful to learn Finkbonner has been found and is preparing to bring her home to reunite with her family and children, her aunt Nikki Finkbonner shared in a text message Thursday night.
With support from the Lhaq’temish Foundation, MMIW USA and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Washington’s Blanket Project, family members and three representatives of the Lummi Nation were slated to search for Finkbonner in Las Vegas this weekend.
“We are relieved and grateful to hear Reatha has been found and is in the process of coming home to be with her family. We raise our hands to Reatha’s family, who have been tireless in trying to locate her. We raise our hands to the entire Lummi community, our relatives throughout Indian Country, and all who brought attention to her case in an effort to ensure her safety,” Lummi Nation Chairman Lawrence Solomon said in a news release.
The news of Finkbonner’s disappearance gained national media attention days after the remains of a 22-year-old missing Florida woman who went on vacation with her fiance were found in Wyoming. The case of Gabby Petito sparked a national conversation after an article from The Daily Beast highlighted the fact that 710 Indigenous people — mostly girls — went missing from the same area as Petito with little-to-no attention from media and law enforcement.
The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis, known colloquially as “MMIW,” has been one that Indigenous communities have faced and discussed for a long time.
Nikki Finkbonner said her niece is a kind-spirited person who loves nothing more than to be around family, which is why it was uncharacteristic for her to be out of touch for so long. That’s why she made the missing person flier herself and began fielding tips from the public to share with law enforcement, pushing for the search for her niece and taking media interviews that came following criticisms comparing the overwhelming support of Petito’s case to the MMIW crisis.
“It’s been very hard dealing with all this media attention. I’m really sorry about what happened to Gabby and for her family, but our lives matter too. My niece’s life matters too. She’s Native American. And for us to get this attention because of the Gabby story — it’s disheartening, but we’re finally getting some attention. And hopefully this will help other Indigenous women, men and children who have been missing and murdered and a step in the right direction for justice.”
Finkbonner said in an interview before her niece was found that she wished there was more awareness and training — for both law enforcement and the public — in what to do in the case of a missing person and what resources are available.
“Sadly, Reatha’s case is not a rarity. The missing and murdered Indigenous women and people (MMIWP) crisis is beginning to receive the national attention it warrants. We stand together with our families who are suffering with the heartache of a missing loved one,” Solomon said.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced the formation of a team that will lead the Washington State Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People task force Aug. 12. The 21-person task force will assess systemic causes behind the high rate of disappearances and murders of Indigenous women and people and produce two reports to the Governor and Legislature in August 2022 and June 2023.
This story was originally published September 24, 2021 at 12:43 AM.
