The Atlantic

On the Trail of Missing American Indian Women

Lissa Yellowbird-Chase, an amateur sleuth, believes that every human being deserves to be searched for.
Source: Sophia Myszkowski / The Atlantic

On a Friday morning in May, Lissa Yellowbird-Chase woke up to more Facebook messages than she could hope to answer. Her inbox was full of friends, acquaintances, and strangers asking for her help locating loved ones, or offering their services for future searches. But that morning, Yellowbird-Chase’s focus was on finding Melissa Eagleshield.

Eagleshield, a middle-aged American Indian woman, disappeared four years ago from a secluded property in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, about 50 miles east of Yellowbird-Chase’s home in Fargo, North Dakota. No arrests have

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