米べいワシントン州しゅうにおける先住民せんじゅうみん女性じょせい失踪しっそう事件じけん、5年ねんぶりに遺体いたい発見はっけん――社会的しゃかいてき関心かんしん高たかまる中なか、真相しんそう究明きゅうめいが求もとめられる

According to a police statement, the body of Mary Johnson, a Native American woman who had been missing since 2020 in a remote area of northwestern Washington State, USA, was discovered this year.

According to the results of DNA testing, it has been confirmed that the body found is indeed Mr. Johnson himself.

Mr. Johnson is a registered member of the Tulalip Tribe and was last seen on November 25, 2020, walking along Fire Trail Road within the Tulalip Reservation on his way to a friends house.

The missing person report was filed on December 9th of the same year, and at that time she was 39 years old.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI, the body found in a remote area of Snohomish County on June 13th of this year was ultimately confirmed to be that of Mr. Johnson, but the specific location where the body was discovered has not been disclosed.

The body was discovered about five years after it was last seen, but according to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office, the cause of death and the circumstances leading to death have not yet been determined, and the investigation into the disappearance and death is ongoing.

Snohomish County Sheriff Susanna Johnson said, For the past five years, these have been extremely difficult days for Marys family, her fellow officers, local residents, and everyone who has worked hard on the search.

We hope that the discovery of the body this time will be a step toward solving the case.

The FBI and the Tulalip Tribe are offering a reward of up to $60,000 about 9.2 million yen for information leading to the identification, arrest, and prosecution of those involved in the disappearance of Ms. Johnson.

Currently, it has been about five years since Ms. Johnson went missing, and a series of disappearances and murders of Indigenous women have occurred in the United States, drawing public attention.

The families of the victims and human rights activists strongly insist that such incidents are not being taken seriously enough and are often ignored.

The documentary film Missing from Fire Trail Road, which was released last year, brought attention to Ms. Johnsons case and became an opportunity to raise public awareness.

In response to this situation, the Biden administration strengthened federal measures during its first term.

Furthermore, earlier this year, the Department of Justice under the Trump administration announced a plan to increase FBI personnel nationwide to address unsolved violent crimes, particularly cases of missing and murdered individuals on Native American reservations.