Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday gave new life to the Missing Persons Information and Reporting Act by assigning an AG’s Office investigator to probe and prosecute cases of missing and murdered indigenous New Mexicans. Joined by family members of missing and murdered women and relatives, the governor signed Senate Bills 12 and 13.
In addition to establishing this new position in the Attorney General’s office, the Bills designate an an annual event to bring together families of missing New Mexicans with investigators and other state resources. “Missing in New Mexico” day will join families with federal, state, local and tribal governments in one location to file and update missing persons reports, submitting DNA records and meeting with investigators. The event will be hosted by the Department of Public Safety and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs). The NamUs missing persons database and related divisions support the resolution of missing, unidentified and unclaimed persons cases by offering case consultations, collecting biometric data (DNA, fingerprints, images) and offering training about this critical database to communities.
“While these measures will not on their own bring an end to this crisis, they are important tools in our continued fight to deliver answers to families across the state and hold those responsible accountable,” said MLG. “I thank the members of New Mexico’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Task Force for their continued dedication to identifying solutions and delivering answers.”