4 years on, the search for Bemidji’s Nevaeh Kingbird continues
This October marks four years since 15-year-old Nevaeh Kingbird disappeared in Bemidji, Minnesota. Investigators, loved ones and advocates say they won’t give up the search.
“I am hoping that this year is the year that makes a difference,” said Ana Negrete with Minnesota’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office.
Negrete says Nevaeh’s mother is a a fierce and relentless advocate, and the MMIR office stands beside her in the search for Nevaeh. This year, for the first time, the MMIR office is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading investigators to Nevaeh.
“This can’t be just an issue that is her family’s issue, this is a community issue,” said Negrete. “We’re hoping that this is the push that helps turn the corner in this investigation.”
The MMIR Office launched the reward program earlier this year and say more than a dozen cases involving missing and murdered indigenous Minnesotans are eligible, including Nevaeh’s. The 15-year-old is a member of the Red Lake Nation.
Earlier this year, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released this age progression photo of what Nevaeh could look like now, years after her disappearance.
An age progression photo of Nevaeh Kingbird, age 19.
“Four years later, we’re still following up on leads,” said Bemidji Police Detective Sgt. Dan Seaberg. “We actually just last week, did another search of a wooded area near where she was last seen.”
While Seaberg says that search was not successful, he says this is a case he’s constantly working on.
“We really are hoping to get some answers for the family to provide that peace, and to figure out what happened,” Seaberg said.
The detective, who has had the case for four years, thinks a tip from the public could be the help they need.
“It’s gonna take somebody knowing something and coming forward with that information, and then us being able to put the pieces of the puzzle together to determine what happened, and to find Nevaeh,” he said.
Seaberg says the police department was first alerted to Nevaeh’s disappearance in the early morning hours of Oct. 22, 2021. He says Nevaeh’s mother reported her daughter as a runaway. Later, Seaberg says, investigators found out she had been at a friend’s house, and left through a window. No one has had contact with her since and her missing persons case is active.
The Bemidji Police Department believe, at the time of her disappearance, she may have been wearing a red sweatshirt with a ‘bull’ logo, blue jeans, and black and red Nike sandals.
If you know anything about Nevaeh’s disappearance, please call the Bemidji police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.