Larissa Lonehill, a 21-year-old Lakota woman, was last seen in Rapid City, South Dakota, on October 3, 2016. A member of the Lakota Indian tribe, she grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Prior to her disappearance, Lonehill had been staying intermittently with her sister in Rapid City but had recently been asked to leave due to a disagreement. On October 2, 2016, she visited her mother, and was later picked up by her boyfriend. The following day, she sent a text message to her cousin stating that she was with two male friends and was on her way to a party. One of these men later told authorities he had dropped her off at a party, but Lonehill was never heard from again. At the time of her disappearance, she was a devoted mother to her two-year-old daughter, whom she visited regularly.
The investigation into Larissa Lonehill's disappearance has been an extended and challenging one.
Although her family reported her missing shortly after they lost contact, a formal police announcement was not made for several months. The Rapid City Police Department, in conjunction with other agencies including the Pennington County Sheriff's Office, the Oglala Sioux Tribal Police, and the FBI, has pursued numerous leads. Despite these efforts, little information has been made public, with authorities stating the need to preserve the integrity of the investigation. A $5,000 reward was offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance. This reward was later updated to include information leading to the location of her body, as investigators have stated they believe she is deceased and her body may have been disposed of within a 100-mile radius of Rapid City.
The case of Larissa Lonehill highlights the ongoing crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in the United States. Her family has been vocal about the initial lack of media attention her case received. In the years since her disappearance, there has been a growing awareness of the disproportionate rates at which Indigenous women go missing or are murdered, leading to legislative changes in South Dakota aimed at improving data collection and investigation procedures for such cases. Despite the passage of time, Larissa Lonehill's case remains unsolved, leaving her family without closure. Authorities have not publicly identified any suspects. The investigation is ongoing, and there remains a plea to the public for any information that could help bring answers to her loved ones.Last Seen: Oct 1, 2016
