The Department of Public Safety has expanded efforts to pursue justice in MMIP cases.
Monday, May 5, marks National Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Awareness Day. The State of Alaska, Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Alaska State Troopers (AST) have made historic investments to address the MMIP situation in the state and continue to prioritize this important work. The department is committed to relentlessly pursuing justice in MMIP investigations.
Major milestones show a continued dedication to justice:
• The Alaska Bureau of Investigation revised its response procedures for suspicious deaths and homicide investigations to deploy more troopers, investigators and crime scene technicians to the immediate investigation. As a result, every murder of an Alaska Native in the AST area of responsibility has been solved and referred for prosecution since 2022.
• While U.S. Department of Justice grant funding ended in 2023, Alaska’s legislators and Gov. Mike Dunleavy remain dedicated to continuing work on cold case homicides and suspicious missing persons investigations involving Alaska Natives. During Fiscal Year 2025, Gov. Dunleavy and the Legislature secured funding to support four full-time MMIP investigators dedicated solely to MMIP cases.
• MMIP investigators are actively working on six cases throughout four different regions of the state.
• Senate Bill 151 went into effect in 2025 and outlined requirements for MMIP cases, including many that were already being met by DPS. The department is establishing the MMIP Review Commission to begin reviewing unresolved MMIP cases statewide.
Longstanding commitment to Alaska’s MMIP situation:
• DPS is a leader in state involvement to address MMIP investigations. DPS leaders have met with dozens of advocates, tribal leaders, and other Alaskans working on MMIP in Alaska to work on holistic solutions.
• In 2024, the Village Public Safety Operations (VPSO) Division launched a statewide information campaign to encourage Alaskans to report missing persons immediately and not wait 24 hours.
• DPS hired its first MMIP investigator in 2022 and has since expanded to four investigators dedicated to solving these complex and important cases.
• DPS was assigned as a member to the Governor’s People First MMIP Council in 2021 and has implemented nearly every recommendation the council made.
DPS and partner agencies continue to provide validated data on MMIP in Alaska
• Data about Alaska’s MMIP situation is expanding and continues to be readily available for the public. The Quarterly MMIP Report is published by DPS with information about the race, sex and status of reported missing Alaska Native and American Indian cases in Alaska.
• During Quarter 1 of 2025, 320 people were reported missing in Alaska and 277 were located.
• Of the missing people reported during Quarter 1, 166 people were reported to be Alaska Native or American Indian, or information was not available about their race. Fourteen of them remain missing.
• MMIP cases in Alaska look different than in the Lower 48 due to the vast wilderness and challenging conditions of Alaska. Environmental factors are suspected to be involved in more than 75% of Alaska’s missing person cases involving Alaska Natives or American Indians.
• Suspicious circumstances are considered to be a factor in just 19 cases.
• DPS enters every missing person into the federal NamUS database within 60 days of the person being reported missing to enable information sharing on missing persons with lower 48 agencies.
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