FBI Targets 4 Montana Cold Cases as Rewards Climb to $25,000

Montana carries seven reservations and more tribal nations than almost any other state, and for years families here have asked the same painful question. Where is my daughter? Where is my brother? Why does no one seem to be looking?

The FBI is responding with a new initiative called Voices Not Forgotten, and four of the featured cases are from Montana.

FBI Raises Minimum Reward to $25,000 for Indian Country Cases

FBI Director Kash Patel unveiled the program at the National Law Enforcement Partner Conference, where more than 200 members of Tribal law enforcement gathered to talk through the realities of policing Indian Country. The centerpiece of the announcement is blunt and practical. Every publicly advertised case involving a homicide, kidnapping, or missing person suspected to be a homicide victim in Indian Country, where the FBI has jurisdiction, now carries a minimum reward of $25,000.

That includes cases classified under Missing or Murdered Indigenous Person protocols, a designation Montana families have pushed federal agencies to take seriously for a long time.

Montana Reservations and FBI Jurisdiction Explained

It surprises a lot of people to learn the FBI has direct jurisdiction on close to 200 reservations nationwide, Montana's included. That authority comes mainly from two federal laws, the General Crimes Act and the Major Crimes Act, and it only kicks in when three things line up. The alleged crime has to be one the FBI would normally handle, it has to occur on a reservation where the Bureau has jurisdiction, and either the victim or the suspect has to be American Indian or Alaska Native.

Tribal law enforcement still handles the daily policing and tribal code enforcement on the ground. The FBI's role sits alongside that through partnerships that include the Bureau of Indian Affairs. More on how that jurisdiction works is laid out on the FBI's Indian Country crime page.

Voices Not Forgotten Interactive Map Covers Indian Country

The FBI built the Voices Not Forgotten webpage as a searchable, interactive map covering Indian Country investigations nationwide. Instead of scattered posters and press releases, families and tribal advocates now have one place to look, click, and find out what law enforcement knows about their case. Clicking a numbered marker on the map pulls up cases tied to that reservation or tribe, and some posters are even available in translation, including Navajo, for communities where that matters.

The initiative launches with six cases receiving national attention: Angel Beach, Sa'Wade Birdinground, Maleeka "Mollie" Boone, Logan Warrior Goings, Mary Johnson (Davis), and Emily Pike.

Montana Cases: Browning and Crow Reservation Under Billings FBI

Four cases tied to Montana reservations appear among the FBI's featured listings, and each runs through the Billings Field Office. For anyone in this part of the state, these are not distant headlines. These are Browning, Garryowen, and the Crow Reservation.

Ashley Loring HeavyRunner was last seen the week of June 13, 2017, in Browning, Montana, on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. She was 20 years old, standing 5'2" with a distinctive checkmark-shaped scar on one hand. Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI's Salt Lake City Field Office at (801) 579-1400 or Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services at (406) 338-4000. Her full case file, including photos and physical description, is on her FBI poster page.

Matthew Leroy Grant was found dead the evening of December 31, 2016, in an alley between the College Homes and South Glacier Homes neighborhoods in Browning. He carried tattoos of praying hands with the words "Ray Grant" on his left forearm and a tribal design on his left shoulder. The FBI is offering up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest in his murder. Tips can go to the Salt Lake City Field Office at (833) 345-7872, and his case details are posted here.

Robert Garrett Stewart Jr., known to family as "Baby Garrett," disappeared without a trace from Montana in October 2013. He was last known to be on the Crow Reservation, and the case has sat unresolved for over a decade. The FBI is offering up to $10,000 for information that helps resolve it. Tips can be directed to the Billings, Montana Resident Agency at (406) 248-8487, and the full poster is available online.

Sa'Wade Birdinground was last seen at her family's residence in Garryowen, on the Crow Indian Reservation, after 11 p.m. on October 6, 2024. She was 13 years old, last seen wearing a black hoodie with a mushroom print, an anime t-shirt, basketball shorts, and purple slip-on Skechers, and she is known to wear an elk tooth necklace. Her community held a walk and balloon release in June 2025 to keep her case visible. The reward for information leading to her recovery now stands at $15,000, and tips can go to the FBI's toll-free tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Her complete case page includes additional video updates from investigators.

Operation Not Forgotten and Safe Trails Task Force in Montana

Voices Not Forgotten did not appear out of nowhere. The FBI has been building toward this for a while through Operation Not Forgotten, a 2023 initiative that surged investigators, intelligence analysts, and victim specialists into Indian country field offices to work unresolved violent crime cases. That effort later expanded with added support from the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services.

There's also the Safe Trails Task Force model, which dates back to 1994 and began as a partnership with the Navajo Department of Law Enforcement in Flagstaff, Arizona. That original task force has since grown into a network of 30 across the country, pairing federal, state, local, and tribal agencies to push back against violent crime and drug trafficking on tribal land, a structure with direct relevance for Montana's own reservations. Background on these programs is available on the FBI's Indian Country Crime Overview.

FBI Director Kash Patel on Why Public Tips Matter

Patel framed the reward increase as a direct appeal to anyone sitting on information they have been afraid or unwilling to share.

"Voices Not Forgotten is a brand new initiative that is part of this FBI's record dedication of resources to Tribal partners who have been left behind far too long," Patel said. He pointed to the success of the Bureau's Top Ten Most Wanted program as a model, arguing that public tips solve cases faster than almost any other tool available to investigators.

Not Invisible Act Commission Drives New FBI Protocol

The push behind Voices Not Forgotten traces directly to requests from the Not Invisible Act Commission and years of conversations between the FBI and tribal leaders who have pressed the Bureau to make case information easier for Native communities to find. For Montana families who have driven hours to a field office just to ask for an update, that shift toward accessibility matters. The FBI has also emphasized victim services as part of the broader effort, pairing investigative work with support meant to help families cope with the aftermath of violent crime.

Get our free mobile app

Anyone with information about a crime in Indian Country is encouraged to contact their local FBI field office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate if overseas, or reach out directly through tips.fbi.gov or by phone at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Tips can remain anonymous. You can browse the full interactive map and every featured case on the Voices Not Forgotten page.