Statistics from the Bureau of Indian Affairs indicate Native Americans are at a disproportionate risk of going missing, prompting a group of all-female rescue volunteers to do something about it.
Bernadine Beyale is the founder of 4 Corners K-9 Search and Rescue. Beyale and her team have dedicated themselves to searching for the missing and providing answers to anxious families
“They’re scared, they’re frustrated, they are worried, they just want an answer,” Beyale told KOB. “All they want is communication. To be told ‘Yep, we are out there. We are looking. We’ll do this for you.’ So that’s what we are doing. We’ll look for you, we’ll see if we can find you answers to help bring closure to you.”
The Bureau of Indian Affairs estimates around 4,200 missing and murdered cases involving Native Americans have gone unsolved, per KOB. The Navajo Nation is comprised of more than 27,000 square miles of rugged and often remote terrain.
“We still have families out there that just don’t have electricity or cell phone receptions or don’t even have cell phones,” Beyale said.
Beyale and her team use two dogs to help in their search and rescue missions.
“Trigger’s disciplines are human remains training and live find or air scent,” Beyale said. “Gunny is my second shepherd. He is a Ceviche Slovakian shepherd, and he just turned 2 in February. He does live find as well, same as Trigger, and is learning human remains training.”
Every weekend Beyale, her two dogs and volunteers search the Navajo Nation looking for the missing and murdered. Sometimes there are positive results.
“We had a search up in Bluff, Utah with an individual who went missing on a Saturday,” Beyale said. “We got a call on a Wednesday. So, when we got out there within 45 minutes the dogs found this person, and he was probably a half a mile from his house in a little sand dune.”
Beyale’s group is seeking funding to add a drone to the team and are also looking for more volunteers.