Fundraiser Friday 1/01/21

Happy New Years!

Below you will find links to this week's Fundraiser Friday cases. Let's hope that 2021 is the year that the families of these missing people find justice and/or closure.

Lakira Goldsmith

Lakira vanished at the age of 20 on November 27th, 2018. The young woman was last seen in Montgomery, Alabama. She left a two year-old son and all of her medications behind. [fundraiser for private investigator] [full case write-up]

Ashley Loring Heavyrunner

Ashley vanished at the age of 20 on June 13th, 2017. She was last seen on the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana. [fundraiser for search efforts] [full case write-up]

Cheyann Klus

Cheyann vanished at the age of 22 on December 1st, 2017. She disappeared while partying at a house near Chicago, Illinois. 12 days later, someone called 911 from her phone, but the caller hung up before the dispatcher was able to say anything. [family's Facebook fundraiser] [full case write-up]

Stay tuned for next week's Fundraiser Friday and feel free to make requests.

The Disappearance of Ashley Loring Heavyrunner

Ashley Loring Heavyrunner (20) has been missing from Browning, Montana since June 13th, 2017. According to her sister Kimberly Loring, Ashley was last seen that day at Native American Bank, located on Blackfeet Reservation where she lived. Kimberly was on a trip to Africa at the time, and had last spoken to Ashley a week earlier on June 6th. The two sisters spoke about Kimberly’s impending return to her home in Missoula, Montana—located about an hour away from Blackfeet Reservation. Ashley had plans to move out to Missoula once Kimberly returned. However, when Kimberly returned a few weeks later, she was unable to get in touch with Ashley at all. After reaching out to Ashley’s friends, Kimberly learned that nobody had heard from Ashley since early June. After learning this, Ashley’s family members filed a missing persons report with tribal police.

Since Ashley’s disappearance, Kimberly has moved back to the reservation to help search for her sister. She and other family members often spend free time organizing searches in the Rocky Mountains. Kimberly said that law enforcement officials were helpful in the first weeks following Ashley’s disappearance, but now rarely show up when she calls for assistance. This has apparently been an ongoing issue on the reservation; according Blackfeet Tribal Business Council member Carl Kipp, there is a history of unsolved violent crimes on the reservation. Carl said that this is largely in part due to the lack of resources and officers available to investigate.

Ashley’s disappearance has raised questions about justice on tribal lands. Please share this post to raise awareness on this issue and help #FindAshley. There is currently a $5,000 reward for any information about Ashley’s case. If you have any information, please call the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).

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[Small Town Mysteries Vol. II]