Emily Pike, a 14-year-old Native American girl from Arizona, begged officers not to return her to a group home just months before she vanished — and was later found dismembered in a remote area near the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation.
Emily was reported missing from a group home in Mesa on January 27, 2025. Just over two weeks later, on Valentine’s Day, her remains were discovered stuffed inside garbage bags along Forest Road 355 — a chilling find that has sparked national outrage and a desperate search for justice.
Recently released bodycam footage from the Mesa Police Department, obtained by ABC15, shows Emily in September 2023 after she ran away from the same group home. In the footage, the young teen is seen walking beside a canal and telling an officer she doesn’t want to go back.
“I just want to see my mom,” Emily pleads. “I’m not going to go to that f—— group home. I hate it there.”
Despite her tearful protests, Emily eventually got into the police car and was returned to the facility — reportedly operated by Sacred Journey Inc. She had reportedly run away three times in 2023.
Just months later, in January 2025, another 911 call came in from the group home. A staff member told police that Emily had disappeared again. “I looked under the bed and the closet. I looked outside. The gate was open. The screen door, the screen window was kicked out,” the staffer explained in bodycam footage.
Now, the FBI and the San Carlos Apache Tribe are both offering separate $75,000 rewards for any information that leads to the arrest of whoever is responsible for Emily’s murder.
“This crime must not go unsolved,” said Tribal Chairman Terry Rambler in a letter to the public. “Emily was murdered in a cruel, depraved and heinous act, and the perpetrator(s) must be held accountable.”
The tragedy has sparked calls for change. The tribe is demanding stricter oversight of Arizona’s group homes after Emily’s horrifying death. A state legislative hearing was held last month, focusing on group home failures and Emily’s case.
The Arizona Department of Child Safety confirmed that it’s conducting a licensing review of the group home but stated in March that, at this point, it does not believe staff actions directly led to Emily’s death.
Emily’s uncle, Allred Pike Jr., declined to share why the teen had been placed in the group home in the first place. The tribe’s social services department had reportedly made the placement.
Neither Sacred Journey Inc., the Gila County Sheriff’s Office, the Arizona DCS, nor the tribe has commented further on the ongoing investigation.
With a $150,000 reward on the table, Emily’s family and tribe are begging the public to come forward. Justice for Emily is long overdue.
