The last 17 days have seen a shocking uptick in missing kids and teens in North Dakota. Stories of missing kids and teens are always really sad and, unfortunately, seem to be all too common lately. More typically, cases of missing kids seem to be spread all over the country. It’s rare that one state has so many, especially in a short span of time. Thus far, police believe that the number is merely a coincidence. They don’t think there are connections between the disappearances.
According to the missing person’s registry on the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office’s website, nearly 12 children have gone missing in the state since late July, People reported. Currently, nine juveniles are still missing. The most recent were allegedly reported missing on August 17.
In Forum did a more in-depth examination into these missing kids and teens. Although some have now been found, they include:
- Dashira Chapple, 14. Last seen in Fargo on July 29.
- Camila Naara Juarez Perez, 9. Last seen in Williston on August 3.
- Maddison Mickaila Finch, 16. Last seen in Grand Forks County on August 9.
- Angel Marquece Peltier, 15. Last seen in Fargo on August 10.
- Mariah Alexandria Gorneau, 19. Last seen in Mandan.
- Adrian Skye Spies, 14. Last seen in Fargo on August 11.
- Abbigail Louise Compeau, 16. Last seen in Grand Forks on August 12.
- Anaiese Dachelle Weems, 3. Last seen in Minot on August 13.
- Xiyan Oka, 16. Last seen in Ward County on August 13.
- Xoey Iceman, 16. Last seen in Ward County on August 13.
- Tayvin Fox, 15. Last seen in Ward County on August 13.
“That feels like a lot when you say it out loud,” a chief agent with the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Steven Harstad, told the outlet. He also said the agency has yet to draw connections between the cases but called the uptick “concerning.”
Harstad also shared that the number could actually be higher. If the minors are listed as runaways instead of missing, they won’t show up on missing persons registries.
“A lot of times, a runaway is not even reported to law enforcement because they have come back in the past,” he said. “But even if that child has run away 20 times, the 21st time might be the time they’ve gotten into a bad situation.”
He added, “I don’t know if law enforcement can fix the issue, but it can respond with the same tenacity no matter who is missing, regardless of where they’re missing and how many times they’ve been missing in the past.”
Of the 30 people in the state who have gone missing in 2025, 18 have been kids or teens, In Forum reported. Only a few have photos alongside their names. What’s more concerning is that over half of the missing kids and teens have been tribal, and half of the 11 kids missing since July are tribal.
“You’d think there was something happening with that many people missing in a small state like North Dakota. These are children, these are loved ones; they’re community members whose absence I’m sure is deeply felt by families and communities,” Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons advocate Prairie Rose Seminole said.
“Just because a young person ran away doesn’t mean they’re safe,” she added.
