Emily’s home life in Peridot was marked by instability. Her parents had long been separated, and her father cycled in and out of prison, most recently on charges related to arson. Although her mother retained custody, a history of substance addiction made it difficult for her to provide consistent care, according to family members.

Emily lived in a deteriorating manufactured home shared with her brother, mother, grandmother, aunts, and others. The residence sat along a dirt path strewn with broken glass, trash, and overgrown brambles. The house as frequently chaotic, with unreliable plumbing and a leaking roof patched with tarps.

2023

Summer 2023

• At age 13, Emily was assaulted on the San Carlos Apache Reservation. The Game and Fish officers investigated launched investigation into an assault, and notified tribal authorities. Although tribal authorities arrested a relative in connection with the incident, the alleged assailant was ultimately released without prosecution.

August 2023 

• Due to concerns for her safety, she was removed from her mother’s custody and placed in a group home where her contact with relatives was restricted. The San Carlos Apache Tribe’s Social Services Department placed Emily Pike at Sacred Journey, Inc., a residential childcare center located in Mesa, Arizona.  Letter
• Emily’s mother, Steff Dosela, was prohibited by tribal Social Services from having contact with Emily following her removal from the home.

September 2023

• Early September – Emily is hospitalized for self-harm.

September 11, 2023

Group home staff reported Emily Pike and another child missing.

• 6:12 AM – Emily Pike and another 15-year-old run away from their Mesa group home operated by Sacred Journey Inc. (which housed 10 children).
• Mesa Police were notified after the girls escaped through a bedroom window and side gate.

According to the report:

• the employee had administered their medication but discovered they were gone when she returned to check on them.
• Surveillance cameras in the hallway and office areas of the home did not capture the girls leaving, leading staff to believe they had climbed out of a bedroom window and exited through a side gate.
• The employee also mentioned that one of the girls had a “secret cellphone” which had been confiscated the night before.

The girls was eventually located at a Mesa playground at Kleinman Park. When questioned by police, both girls reportedly said they didn’t want to return to the group home because they were forced to clean — scrubbing walls, baseboards, window sills, and even getting on their hands and knees to scrub grout from the tile.

• One of the girls, told officers she would run away again if returned and said she’d rather go to jail or live with her grandmother

September 20, 2023

Emily Pike was reported missing once again by group home staff. While an officer was en route to the home, they spotted a teenager matching her description. Upon making contact, Pike told officers she did not want to return to the group home because “it makes her uncomfortable when the staff gets into arguments with other juveniles in the home.”

• When an officer located her, Emily expressed that she did not want to return because ongoing arguments between staff and other juveniles made her feel uncomfortable. 
• At the group homE request She was sent for evaluation at Mind 24/7, a mental health facility, before returning.

October 31, 2023

• 6:36 PM – Staff reports that Emily has run away for the fourth time.
• 9:15 PM – the home called officers to let them know Pike had returned.
• Staff overhears her say she had been “laced” (possibly drugged), but she is not sent for medical care.
• Her behavior is monitored overnight.

Police Report: Around 9:15 p.m. the home called officers to let them know Pike had returned. Staff told police that they overheard Emily telling other residents that “she was laced,” but denied the need for immediate medical attention and stated they would continue to monitor her behavior through the night.

November 8, 2023

• 10:00 AM – Emily attempted suicide just before 10 a.m., when a staff member found Emily in a master bedroom closet with a shoestring around her neck and tied to a doorknob.

November 26, 2023

• After being released from the hospital, Emily was picked up by her aunt and uncle. They took her on a Thanksgiving trip through Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah so she could meet other relatives. During the trip, however, Emily’s behavior raised some concern.

November 28, 2023

• A disagreement the day after Thanksgiving set off a chain of events. Emily ran away, and when a police officer found her, she refused to leave with her relatives. She expressed suicidal thoughts, telling them she wanted to die and would see them in hell. The situation ultimately led to her hospitalization and a return flight to Arizona and was placed to a secure behavioral health facility.
  

December 2024

• Emily returned to a group home after she spent the year in a secure behavioral health facility.

January 27, 2025: 

• 7:00 PM – Emily ran away.
• 7:45 PM – Last seen on foot near Mesa Drive and McKellips Road.
• 8:19 PM – Officially reported missing to Mesa PD. Police Report
  
• Case: GO# ME2025-20566
• Classification: Missing Juvenile – Runaway
• Reporting party: Cathy J. Montano

Note: According to the group home manager’s report, Emily had a snack again out of her bedroom window, and this wasn’t the first time she had run away. In a previous incident, she was found near Fitch Park. A few days after her disappearance, staff checked the Rock Teen Center—a place Emily had visited—but no one there had seen or heard from her. Staff members also reported that Emily had a history of behavioral and mental health concerns and was taking prescribed medication. She was under the care of a case manager through the San Carlos Apache Tribe.

• Emily’s Roommate said Emily told her that she was going to meet with a boy she met while taking guitar records. 

Note: The San Carlos Apache Tribe stated that the group home where Emily Pike lived, operated by Sacred Journey Inc., reported her missing three times in 2023 and a fourth time in January 2025, shortly before she was found murdered off U.S. 60, northeast of Globe. 

January 28, 2025

Police spoke with an employee from the group home where Emily Pike had been staying. According to the report, the employee informed Mesa Police that Pike was taking medication for mental health and behavioral issues. She also provided contact information for Emily’s case manager with the San Carlos Apache Tribe.

Records indicate she had been placed at the group home by the San Carlos Apache Tribe.

• Officer E. Kapke (Badge #24328) is the reporting officer. Police Report
  
• At this stage, the case status remains OPEN – Missing Persons.
• Emily is still unaccounted for. No fingerprints or distinctive marks on file.

January 29, 2025

• Group home staff rechecked the Rock Teen Center a place Emily had visited in the past, but no one there had seen or heard from her since she went missing on January 27, 2025..
• 3:35 PM – A statewide missing person bulletin is issued for Emily Pike.

February 2, 2025

• An unknown caller leaves a voicemail at the group home claiming Emily is with her mother on San Carlos Apache land.

February 6, 2025

• A Facebook post makes the same claim.
• Police confirm it is false; Emily’s mother says she hasn’t heard from her.

Note: On February 6, 2025, an anonymous Facebook post claimed Emily was with her mother on the reservation. However, police later confirmed the tip was false after her mother stated she had not heard from Emily.

February 7, 2025

• Group home staff finally retrieved and reviewed the voicemail left on February 2, 2025

February 11, 2025

• Police officially reviewed the voicemail.
• The mother again confirms the tip is untrue.

Notes: Police were notified by a group home employee about a voicemail that had been received on February 2 but wasn’t accessed until February 7, 2025, The message, left by an unknown caller, claimed that Emily was on San Carlos Apache Tribal Land with her mother. After investigation, Emily’s mother confirmed she had not heard from her daughter, proving the tip false.

February 14, 2025

Reader warning: Graphic details

The detectives found the head and torso in large contractor trash bags and the legs were found in separate bags, GCSO said that after searching the area, detectives couldn’t locate the rest of the body parts. This suggests that she was murdered at a different location and that this is where her body was disposed of. The preliminary autopsy results found the girl had visible face and head trauma. No identifying clothing, jewelry or identification was found with the remains. The cause of death is still undetermined.

• Police report human remains found in bags along Highway 60 near Globe, AZ about 100 miles from where Emily was last seen alive. 
• The Gila County Sheriff’s Office said the body was found by people on a trail near mile marker 277.

February 19, 2025

• Bureau of Indian Affairs contacts Mesa PD, suspecting the remains (Jane Doe) may be Emily Pike.

February 27, 2025

Authorities confirm the remains belong to Emily Pike.

• She was found 100 miles away from where she was last seen alive.
• She had been dismembered.
• The discovery is made one month after her disappearance.

Note: The Gila County Sheriff’s Office received a call from some people who were out in the area and discovered the trash bags while walking down the trail. When they investigated it, they believed that there was possibly a body in one of the bags,” said Lt. James Lahti. A month after she was first reported missing, authorities confirmed that the dismembered remains found in Globe belonged to Emily Pike.

February 28, 2025

The Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) opened a licensing inquiry into the group home where Emily Pike had been living, one day after her remains were officially identified by authorities.

March 8, 2025

The Gila County Sheriff’s Office is asking for any Ring or surveillance video after January 26 that could include footage of Emily Pike passing by and any tips on possible sightings, as they still have no person of interest in her homicide.

March 10, 2025 

• Members of multiple groups rallied for a Day of Action to call for justice for the murdered Emily Pike. Watch the story in the player below

March 15, 2025

• A candlelight vigil is held in Emily’s honor.
• The San Carlos Apache Tribe announces a $75,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Emily Pike, 14, was described by her family as a joyful young girl who had a deep love for music and a contagious smile. She was a treasured member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe.

March 18, 2025

A multi-agency task force is formed:

• Gila County Sheriff’s Office
• San Carlos Apache Police Department
• Mesa Police Department
• FBI
• Bureau of Indian Affairs

Note: The Gila County Sheriff’s Office announced that multiple agencies had joined forces to form a task force dedicated to investigating Emily Pike’s case. The newly formed task force includes the Sheriff’s Office, the San Carlos Apache Police Department, the Mesa Police Department, the FBI, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Sheriff’s Office at 928-425-4449, option 1, or San Carlos Apache Police Department at 928-475-1700.

The Gila County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) also established an online tip line to assist in the investigation. Members of the public who have any information related to Emily Pike’s case are encouraged to submit tips through the platform to help authorities in their ongoing efforts.

• When people click on the link, the website will ask for a zip code when you create your account, and any agencies that subscribe to the online portal within a 50-mile radius of the zip code you entered will appear in a dropdown menu.

March 21, 2025

The San Carlos Apache Tribe  offered a $75,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Emily’s murder Letter

Our Council has offered a $75,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Emily’s murder,” San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler said in a letter that accompanied the resolution. “We have requested the public to supplement the reward to generate more interest and leads. This crime must not go unsolved. Emily was murdered in a cruel, depraved, and heinous act, and the perpetrator(s) must be held accountable.”

March 24, 2025

The San Carlos Apache Tribe urges the Arizona legislature to:

• Pass HB2281, establishing a Missing Indigenous Person Alert System.
• Implement tighter group home regulations in response to Emily’s murder.

Note: San Carlos Apache Tribe urges the AZ legislature to tighten regulations on group homes in response to the murder of Emily Pike. The tribe wants lawmakers to pass HB2281 to establish a Missing Indigenous Person Alert System. Records

• Mesa Police reported that over the past three years, 30 missing person reports have been filed from the group home where Emily Pike had been living. While some of these cases involved habitual runaways, officials confirmed that Emily herself had been reported missing four times, including the most recent incident in January 2025.

March 25, 2025

Senate Health & Human Services Committee Chair Carine Werner is calling for a probe of the Arizona Department of Child Services (DCS) group home regulations in response to the gruesome murder of 14-year-old Emily Pike, after she ran away from her state-licensed facility in January. Press Release

Here is another case of a missing person from the same group home: Missing Veronica Cruz

The San Carlos Apache Tribe  offered a $75,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Emily’s murder  Letter

On behalf of the over 17,000 members of the San Carlos Apache Tribe (“Tribe”) and the San Carlos Council, the Tribe’s governing body, I transmit Council Resolution No. MR-25-049. This resolution requests an amendment to the Arizona Revised Statutes to strengthen children’s group home standards, an investigation into group homes and runaways, and supports HB2281 to establish a Missing Indigenous Person Alert System.

We remain deeply distressed over the brutal murder of 14-year-old Emily Pike, who was placed by our Tribe’s Social Services Department at Sacred Journey, Inc., a residential childcare center located in Mesa. After a month there, Emily left the facility without permission on or about Jan. 27. Most of her dismembered remains were found in plastic garbage bags on Feb. 14, about 100 miles away off U.S. Highway 60 near a remote forest road.

Our Council has offered a $75,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Emily’s murder. We have requested the public to supplement the reward to generate more interest and leads. This crime must not go unsolved. Emily was murdered in a cruel, depraved and heinous act and the perpetrator(s) must be held accountable.

Unfortunately, Emily is not the first child to leave Sacred Journey without the group home’s permission. The Mesa Police Department reports that about 30 children have run away from Sacred Journey over the past three years. What happened to these other children? Are they all safe and accounted for? Why has this clear failure to protect these children been allowed to continue unabated for years?

We strongly believe the circumstances require a comprehensive review by the state that goes beyond the ongoing police investigation into Emily’s murder. We respectfully request Governor Hobbs, given your background in social work, take all steps necessary to implement reforms in group homes to ensure the safety of children is a top priority of your Administration 

And we respectfully request Attorney General Mayes investigate the circumstances surrounding Emily’s unauthorized departure from Sacred Journey. This investigation should carefully review the safety, security, monitoring, licensing and operational standards for group homes and determine how these could be strengthened to prevent children from leaving their care without permission. We ask that your recommendations be presented to the Legislature to be considered in appropriate legislation that is named in honor of Emily Pike.

The Tribe’s resolution also supports HB 2281 that would create an alert system upon learning that an indigenous person is missing, in peril or in the company of a dangerous person. An alert system should be immediately activated upon notification an indigenous person is in danger. We appreciate Representative Martinez and her co-sponsors, Reps. Brian Garcia, Mae Peshlakai and Myron Tsosie for introducing HB2281. I look forward to your support in passing and signing this bill into law. As we say in our Apache language, Ahi’yi’é (thank you) in advance for your review and consideration of our request

Another teenage girl has gone missing from the same group home where Emily Pike lived before she was killed. According to the Mesa Police Department, 17-year-old Veronica Cruz was last seen on May 18, 2024, around 4:55 p.m. and has remained missing since.

A bulletin from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children indicates that Veronica may still be in the Mesa area or could have traveled to Casa Grande or Eloy. Authorities are urging anyone with information on her whereabouts to come forward.