FBI, Crow Tribe Post $10,000 Reward for Missing Montana Girl Sa’Wade Birdinground

It’s been eight long, agonizing months since anyone has seen 13-year-old Sa’Wade Birdinground.

The last time Sa’Wade was seen was just after 11 p.m. on October 6, 2024, at her family’s home in Garryowen, Montana, which is within the boundaries of the Crow Indian Reservation. Since that night, silence. No phone calls. No texts. No word. For a family, that kind of silence is deafening.

A Child Missing, A Community Grieving

Sa’Wade is not just a missing person, she’s a daughter, a niece, a student, a friend. Standing about 5’4” to 5’5” and weighing between 130 and 140 pounds, Sa’Wade has brown eyes and curly brown hair.

On the night she vanished, she was wearing a black hoodie with mushrooms, an anime t-shirt, basketball shorts, and purple slip-on Skechers. She might have taken a black and purple Adidas backpack with her.

One detail that speaks to her personality is that Sa’Wade is known to wear an elk tooth necklace, something that likely holds deep meaning to her.

The FBI Steps In: “No Tip Is Too Small”

Now, in a renewed push to bring her home, community members, FBI agents, and Crow Tribe officials came together on Friday at Little Bighorn College to announce a $10,000 reward for any information that may help locate her.

“Eight months is an incomprehensible amount of time for a family to be without their child,” said Mehtab Syed, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office. “The FBI is fully committed to finding Sa’Wade and bringing her home. No tip is too small or insignificant.”

READ MORE: Montana Woman With Ties to Billings Now Missing for a Year

Sa’Wade’s case is being investigated jointly by the FBI, Crow BIA Law Enforcement, and the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office.

A Larger Crisis in Indian Country

Sa’Wade’s disappearance is not an isolated case, it’s part of a devastating pattern affecting Indigenous communities across the country. To combat this, the FBI has launched initiatives like Operation Not Forgotten, which began in 2023 and focuses on missing persons cases in Indian Country. As part of the effort, the FBI has doubled the number of special agents working on these cases out of its Billings office.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs also has a Murdered and Missing Unit, bringing federal resources and attention to the families who have waited far too long for answers.

How You Can Help

Someone knows something. Maybe it’s just a hunch or a tiny piece of information, but that could be the key to bringing Sa’Wade home.

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If you have any information, no matter how small it may seem, please contact the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office at (801) 579-6195 or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. You can also reach out to your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.