After the body of Challistia Colelay, an Indigenous teen girl living in Arizona, was found, police claimed she was murdered. The girl had been missing for days before her body was discovered. Details about the case are still emerging as investigators frame the incident in a new light. But her disappearance and death are sparking an important conversation about how cases of missing Indigenous girls and women are handled.
The 16-year-old’s body was found on November 3, 2025, in Whiteriver, on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation by the White Mountain Apache Police Department, AZ Family reported. She was reported missing to the police on October 27.
The US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs has announced that it’s treating the teen’s death as a murder. Officials have not given details about what led them to make this decision. Additionally, they haven’t given details about how they found Colelay’s body or how she was killed.
The White Mountain Apache Tribal Police was the lead agency on the girl’s case. “When tribal police get involved, they’re under demand. They don’t have enough resources to file police reports right away,” Darlene Gomez, attorney activist for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives, told AZ Family.
Officials from the Department of Public Safety confirmed to the outlet they had never received a Turquoise Alert when Colelay went missing. The department told AZ Family there were two missing person reports filed for her in October 2024, but both cases were closed.
The girl’s family spoke with ABC 15, saying she was supposed to be going to a friend’s house and she never came home. Relatives also said her body was found less than a mile from her home.
“No family should ever have to experience the level of sadness that they’re experiencing at this time,” founder of Arizona Missing Child Task Force, Leila Woodard, told the outlet. “We don’t want any families to have to lose their loved ones, especially a child. And so it always hits close to home with me, we automatically feel like, ‘How could we have done more?’”
“They need closure,” Woodward continued. “Any family that goes through this needs closure. They need answers.”
Speaking with Fox 10, Woodward stressed the importance of language regarding children who have run away in the past who later go missing. “When a child leaves their house, this is a cry for help… When a child walks out their door, we turn our heads to them. They’re invisible and that needs to stop,” she said.
To cover funeral expenses, the family of Challistia Colelay, also known as “Tia,” has set up a GoFundMe account.
“She was an outgoing, funny, goofy sister that we all loved,” the page reads. The teen, who had 12 siblings, was the “baby of the family and she always went by ‘Baby girl’ or ‘Tia girl’ and was always smiling and teasing everyone she came in contact with.” Colelay “loved painting, drawing, crafting, going camping, fishing, and just driving the back roads with family, she loved being outdoors,” the page adds.
Police are asking the public for anyone who may have tips or information to call the BIA MMU hotline at 1-833-560-2065.
