Emily Pike

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1:13Voices for Justice is a podcast that uses adult language and discusses sensitive and potentially triggering topics, including violence, abuse, and murder. This podcast may not be appropriate for younger audiences. All parties are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Some names have been changed or omitted per their request or for safety purposes. Listener discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney, and this is Voices for Justice.

1:46Today, I'm discussing the case of 14-year-old Emily Pike out of Mesa, Arizona. As I record this episode, the case I'm talking about today is brand new and extremely disturbing, but also incredibly important to talk about. I first learned about Emily's case after law enforcement leaked an internal memo on social media detailing the heartbreaking condition she was found in. Her case has caused waves all over Arizona, and really the country. But her loved ones are screaming for more coverage and for more people to care. This is the case of Emily Pike.

2:28Like I said, as of recording this episode, this is a very new case. So new that some of the information I'm going to tell you about was released the morning this episode airs. We don't know a lot about Emily, but here's what we do know. She was born on May 16, 2010, and was a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe in Arizona. Her family, and presumably at some point Emily as well, lived on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. This reservation was established by executive order on November 9, 1871, long before Arizona was even made a state. It spans nearly 2 million acres in southeastern Arizona, touching Gila, Graham, and Pinal counties.

3:13Now, just for context, since I know a lot of people think that Arizona is just desert, a third of the reservation is gorgeous and green and filled with trees. According to the latest census, it's home to just over 10 ,000 people. Emily has been described as happy, loving, and kind. She was extremely passionate about art, specifically painting, and planned to go to college to pursue a degree in art. Here's her aunt at one of the many rallies for Emily describing what she was like. Emily was artistic. She was kind. She was funny. Her grandma explained to her that she was quirky. issues, always, you know, laughing.

3:53But at some point, Emily was moved about three hours west from the reservation into a group home in Mesa, Arizona. And it appears she maintained a good relationship with her loved ones, as video released by AZ Family shows her speaking to someone, presumably family, about coming for a visit. I wanted to say that I miss you so much, and I really hope I'll try to see if they can come visit me next time. Now, the name of the group home has not been released to the public, presumably to protect those still living within it, so we don't know exactly what type of group home it was. But we do know that it serves girls ages 7 to 17 and takes referrals from the Arizona Department of Child Safety, or DCS, as well as Tribal Social Services.

4:39A spokesperson for DCS said that Emily was not in their department's care, so it seems most likely that Emily was in the care of tribal social services. A woman who says that she lived in that group home for four years and with Emily for an unspecified period of time did an interview anonymously with reporter Brianna Whitney for our local AZ Family News station. She said that Emily told her she was placed in the home because she was struggling with her mental health and was seeking better services than her reservation was able to provide, though that hasn't been confirmed. According to the Mesa Police Department, Emily was reported missing from the group home four times beginning in 2023, when she would have been around the age of 12.

5:23Three reports were from 2023, one of which included another child, and the fourth was in January 2025. But this last time, Emily didn't come back. On January 27, 2025, Emily was at the group home in Mesa. That night, they had visitors from a local church group, and at some point, Emily leaves the home. According to most reporting, she was last seen at 7.45 p.m. in the home near Mesa Drive and McKellips Road in Mesa. Her house manager reported her missing to police that night as a runaway at some point after that. It's believed that she left on foot and it was dark outside. In that same interview with Brianna Whitney, the anonymous roommate says she believes Emily left to visit a boy she met while taking guitar lessons.

6:11She said, quote, The church was there, and that served as a distraction of when Emily left. She left because she wanted to go out and see the boy she liked, and she wanted to talk to him. She either used the back door or used the window, and left as everyone was distracted. End quote. Unfortunately, I think we know what type of response teenagers who are reported as runaways typically get. From what I could find, the Mesa PD didn't do much for Emily, and likely expected that she would come back as she had every other time she ran. There was also a delay in reporting Emily's disappearance to her family.

6:50They didn't find out until a week later when her mother, Steph Gisela, received a phone call from Emily's case manager to let her know that she was missing. I couldn't find any information about a formal search for Emily, and she unfortunately didn't meet the criteria for an Amber Alert in Arizona. But flyers were made and distributed in the Mesa area as well as online. The details were limited. In a co-branded flyer from the Mesa PD and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, it explained that Emily was a missing slash runaway juvenile, 14 years old, Native American with brown hair and brown eyes, 4 '10", weighed 115 pounds, and was last seen wearing a pink and gray shirt in the area of Mesa Drive and McKellips Road.

7:35Her case didn't garner much attention until the end of February, when an internal memo not meant for the public was somehow posted to the Facebook page for the Gila River County Sheriff's Office. As of recording this episode, the Sheriff's Office has not commented publicly on how that leak happened, but it explained that an unidentified woman in her teens or late 20s was found dismembered. And I want to warn you that the following information is graphic and extremely disturbing. It explained that her head and torso were found in trash bags, but some remains were still missing, and there was visible trauma to her head and face.

8:19The memo also contained a photo of where Emily was found and the state she was found in. While this information was never meant to be released, it was. And the community was and is rightfully outraged. This message is sponsored by Greenlight. Money is this invisible thread that ties us all together. It's something everyone has to deal with. That's why teaching kids about money isn't just smart, it's essential. Greenlight is a debit card and money app for families. It's a safe way to teach kids and teens about money. With Greenlight, parents can send money quickly, get spending notifications, and even assign chores.

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10:18Download the free Rakuten app or go to Rakuten.com to start saving today. It's the most rewarding way to shop. That's R-A-K-U-T-E-N. Rakuten.com. On February 14th, 2025, Emily's remains were found in a remote, wooded area off Highway 60 North. near Milepost 277 on Forest Road 255, just east of Globe, Arizona. A lieutenant from the Healy County Sheriff's Office said, quote, received a call from some people that were actually out in the area, and during the course of walking down the trail, discovered the trash bags, that when they kind of investigated it, they believed that there was possibly a body in one of the bags, end quote.

11:06Before Emily was identified, someone from the sheriff's office leaked that internal memo I told you about earlier, sparking massive outrage. And on February 26, they released a statement that reads in part, quote, On February 14, 2025, the remains of an unidentified female were found. The Gila County Sheriff's Office, in conjunction with the San Carlos Apache Tribal Police, began an investigation. Due to the circumstances, it was decided that further information needed to be investigated before any public notification. There was no indication that there was an active threat to the community. Unfortunately, the information on Facebook was intended for law enforcement agencies and was leaked.

11:52GCSO detectives are currently working long hours to make a positive identification and find any information and evidence. This is an active investigation." The following day, February 27th, they released another statement saying in part, quote, On February 27th, 2025, the unidentified female has been identified as a juvenile from the San Carlos Apache tribe, who was reported as a missing-slash-runaway juvenile out of the Mesa the police department. Next of kin has been notified. GCSO is working with several law enforcement agencies to investigate all information and evidence. This is an active homicide investigation.

12:38Sheriff J. Adam Shepard would like to extend our condolences from the sheriff's office to the family and friends of the young female. End quote. I haven't said exactly how Emily was identified, but we do know that her mother was contacted to give a DNA sample. After that incredibly sensitive information was leaked and following these two statements, Emily's case finally began to gain some traction in the media. And it's here that we begin to learn more about her case beyond the leaked and subsequent memos. Again, I'll warn you that the details are graphic and disturbing. Like I mentioned earlier, the leaked memo told us that Emily's head and torso were found in trash bags, and that her head and face showed visible signs of trauma.

13:28But in time, we learn that her head and torso were in one black contractor-grade trash bag, and her legs in another. Her arms and hands have not been recovered. Her manner of death has been deemed a homicide, but her cause of death is still unknown. We don't know when she was killed or how long she was out there. And it's also unclear what type, if any, forensic evidence they may have that could possibly link to the perpetrator or perpetrators. Emily's murder has caused widespread outrage across Arizona, and really the nation after her case went viral on social media. As of recording this episode, there are nearly daily protests, demonstrations, or vigils being held for her across the state.

14:19People are demanding justice for Emily and all missing and murdered indigenous people. Justice for Emily! This is not just a simple little story. This is a 14-year-old girl. The way she died is not okay. Our communities here are hurting. I think most people who consume true crime content know that there is an epidemic in this country concerning missing and murdered indigenous people. According to data from the Department of Justice, 84 % of Native American women have experienced violence at some point in their lives, and the number for men isn't much better, coming in at 82%. While I am extremely passionate about sharing these cases and discussing the issues, I'll admit that I am not the foremost authority on this subject.

15:05There are people within these communities that are far more qualified to speak on these issues. Please seek them out. I promise they are talking about these issues and screaming for people to listen I recommend listening to anything made by Connie Walker She's a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist And has created multiple podcasts highlighting these issues and specific cases within the community Specifically her Missing and Murdered and Stolen series I'll have her website linked in the episode description so you can check them out But one of the issues that is prevalent in MMIP cases that also applies to Emily is that of jurisdiction When Emily went missing, her case was assigned to the Mesa PD After she was identified, the Healy County Sheriff's Office and the San Carlos Apache Tribal Police were also assigned to the case Just as of a few hours before recording this episode, the FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs is now involved For obvious reasons, this can make following the chain of command confusing and result in errors or miscommunication between the departments.

16:12Again, these are very complicated and important issues that impact cases of MMIP. On October 10, 2020, the Not Invisible Act was signed into law by Congress. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, this led to the creation of the Not Invisible Act Commission. Essentially, this is an advisory committee comprised of members of law enforcement, both local and federal, tribal leaders, and service providers, along with family members of missing and murdered persons, and survivors. One of their goals is to work on bridging the gap in communication between these agencies. But this is a long-term plan, and the impact of it is still mostly unknown at this point.

16:56Another initiative that people have been rallying for at demonstrations for Emily Pike is pushing for a new type of Amber Alert system just for missing American Indians and Alaskan natives. In 2018, Congress did pass the Ashland Mike Amber Alert in Indian Country Act, named after 11-year-old Ashland Mike of Navajo Nation. This essentially integrated federally recognized tribes' Amber Alert systems into regional alert systems. But many people within these communities have reported that it's just not working the way it was designed to. So many of those who have been demonstrating for Emily Pike are now asking for something different, something better and stronger, to hopefully prevent more tragedies like hers.

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19:10Like I keep saying, Emily Pike's murder has rocked Arizona, and I think for good reason. But the question remains, what happened to Emily Pike? While her mother has said that law enforcement told her that there are three possible suspects in her case, they've since denied that they're considering anyone a suspect at this point. But they do say that they're working on some leads. So take that for what you will. Her alleged roommate believes that Emily may have encountered foul play while trying to make her way back to her family on the reservation. Emily was found about an hour and a half east of her group home.

19:48If she continued about another hour east, she would have been at the San Carlos Apache Reservation. So it seems entirely plausible. Of course, while we know that she left on foot, it does seem likely that someone gave her a ride at some point. We know that her alleged roommate says that Emily left to see a boy who'd been giving her guitar lessons. But we don't know anything else about him. so I'm hesitant to place any blame or suspicion there. Now, this is where the episode is going to be a little different than how I usually present these cases. You guys know how these episodes work. The main episode is all about facts, publicly reported information with as little commentary and as little sass as I can manage.

20:33I really do try my best to reserve any opinions and personal experience for the after show in most cases. It's my way of letting you opt out of the banter and speculation. But I really do think my experience working with children living in group homes may lend some insight to some aspects of Emily's case. But first, I want to address how most media in this case doesn't really say that Emily was placed in foster care. Again, the Arizona Department of Child Safety said that Emily was not in their care when she was murdered, and the group home she was living in said that they take referrals from DCS and Tribal Social Services.

21:10So I think it's reasonable to believe that Emily was likely in the care of Tribal Social Services during this time. In reporting by Ashley Holden for ABC15 News, she spoke to foster care advocate Anika Robinson. She works for the non-profit organization ASANOW, which stands for Advocacy, Support, and Assistance. They offer services to children within the foster care system. And she told Ashley Holden that their organization provided services to Emily starting in 2023. She said, quote, I think for the majority of kids placed in congregate care, not being in a family setting can be really hard for them, end quote.

21:50So while there are many reports stating it's unclear what type of facility Emily was housed in when she was murdered, and it seems like many of them are carefully dancing around outright saying she was in the foster care system, I think we can confidently read between those lines and assume that she was. I know it's a small thing that feels obvious and I'm probably being a little overboard about it, but I don't want to perpetrate misinformation. And I do feel an obligation to be completely transparent with you that for some reason, most outlets aren't saying she was in foster care, just that she was in a group home, which isn't always the same thing.

22:26Some group homes for children are strictly medical or behavioral based and can be private or state-run. But again, from the little we know about Emily's case and situation, it seems that she was in a group home for foster children And from what I read, her group home works pretty similarly to the one I used to work for For context, to qualify myself about why I'm even inserting this speculation and opinion I worked for an agency that cared for 300 children in the custody of the Department of Child Safety I did a lot of things for this agency but to keep a very long list of job duties short, I scouted and created enriching activities for the kids in our care.

23:06I did things like help schedule programming at our main office as well as directly in the 30 homes we had across Arizona. This included everything from church groups like the one who was with Emily Pike when she went missing to going with them to Disney on Ice and personally driving a van of 10 children to and from summer camp. One of my responsibilities was also reading every single incident report for every single child every single day. Let me break down what that means. When a child is in the Arizona foster care system, at least under DCS, their caregivers, typically the underpaid employees with the children in these homes, have to make a report for basically everything.

23:48If a child scrapes their knee and needs a band-aid, if they curse, if they get bullied at school, if they show extreme signs of distress, if they discuss a bad visit with their family. Everything is supposed to be documented. So while I didn't care directly for the kids in the homes, I spent a lot of time reading about these situations. And I did spend a lot of time with them, specifically in creative situations where they opened up about their experiences at home and in the system. We would create art together. I helped run etiquette classes, makeup classes. I watched them tell their stories on stage at the Herberger Theater in downtown Phoenix.

24:28I got to see a side of these kids that I wish all people could. It was the best, most rewarding job I've ever had. It's the reason I'm so deeply passionate about bringing you cases of children who were failed by the system, like Emily Pike. Again, I don't know everything, but I think I have a good understanding of the system that may be helpful to understanding what may have happened to Emily. I want to talk about what I've seen when kids run from group homes. They typically run to someone. In Emily's case, possibly the boy who was teaching her guitar. We don't know. But this is, of course, when they're the most vulnerable.

25:10They often leave with nothing but the clothes on their backs. And predators know this. They know that these kids don't have anywhere to go, they don't have resources, and usually won't go to the cops out of fear of being sent back to the group home. So unfortunately, Emily is pretty much exactly what terrible people who want to hurt little girls are looking for. I've seen kids lured out of their group homes from people online with just a promise of getting their nails done. And while we don't know if Emily had a cell phone, and kids in the system are typically restricted from having social media for safety and privacy concerns.

25:50Kids are smart and crafty and usually find a way. Emily could have met someone online. She could have met a friend of a friend who offered her a ride. Unfortunately, the possibilities are endless given what we know in the case right now. Now, I do want to take some time to discuss some of the theories and speculation I've seen on social media about Emily's case. First is why Emily was living in the group home. While abuse and neglect are common reasons a child is taken into state care, that just isn't always the case. So I won't assume that Emily was removed because of those reasons. We just don't know.

26:30Another aspect I've seen a lot of speculation about is the church group. I've seen people asking why they were there, is it appropriate, if they're a cult or indoctrinating the children. There's been a lot of talk about this church group, so I just wanted to dig in a little. In my experience, this is very normal. What they were doing, we don't know. When local church groups visited the kids I worked with, they would do everything from Bible study to crafts to celebrating birthdays and everything in between. Sometimes they were just there to spend time with the kids. And while I can't speak for the practices of this particular group home, typically it is required that every person entering that home hold a fingerprint clearance card.