Slain Woman’s Sister Didn’t Know She Was Missing Until Her Body Was Found

The sister of an Indigenous woman found dead on the University of Washington campus had no idea her sister was missing until her body was discovered. Police have ruled the death of Mavis Nelson—who was a mother of three and member of the Yakima Tribe—a homicide after she was found dead in June. A medical examiner has ruled she died from a stabbing. Her sister, Ernestine Morning Owl, told King 5 on Wednesday that the last time she spoke to her sister was in April. “It’s been tragic to a lot of us over here, to my family over there that live in the Yakima Valley, and to the family that she was raised with in Goldendale,” Morning Owl said. Last week the FBI released a list of more than 170 Native Americans who have been confirmed to be missing throughout New Mexico and the Navajo Nation “in an effort to address the crisis of missing or murdered Indigenous persons,” a statement read. For decades, Native American and Alaska Native communities have struggled with high rates of assault, abduction, and murder of women, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.