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22-year-old Native woman missing; last seen in Spokane in March

Spokesman-Review - 7/24/2022

Jul. 23—Law enforcement are searching across Washington for an at-risk 22-year-old woman who was last seen at her group home in Spokane in March.

Dhelila Spotted Eagle Mad Plume has autism and has been off of her prescribed medication, her family said.

Her family traveled to Spokane from their home in Browning, Montana, on Thursday to help look for their missing relative, but so far have not had much luck, said Mad Plume's cousin Rhonda Grant-Connelly. Mad Plume and her family are members of the Blackfeet Tribe.

Mad Plume was listed as missing on March 28, according to the Washington State Patrol's Missing Native American Persons list. However, her grandmother Debra Spotted Eagle said she last spoke with her this past Easter, April 17, when she called to ask for money.

Spotted Eagle said she wired $50 to her granddaughter, but she never picked up the money. She has not spoken with her family since Easter, which the family said is unusual.

Mad Plume was staying at Bethany Place, an assisted living center, where she was allowed to check in and out at her own leisure, according to Grant-Connelly. The center told the family that Mad Plume left with her mother, who has been in jail in Kootenai County for drug charges since May 6, Grant-Connelly said.

Sheriff's Office investigators believed that the mother and daughter were on their way to visit family in Browning, Montana, when investigators discovered the mother was in jail.

Mad Plume's family said she has a history of drug use and had been in and out of rehab before her stay at Bethany Place.

The family traveled to Camp Hope and left flyers with the camp's occupants. The whole process has been frustrating because the family was never notified Mad Plume was missing from the beginning, Grant-Connelly said.

Mad Plume is 5-foot-7 and 130 pounds =with brown hair and brown eyes.

She has a chipped front tooth, a scar on her right thigh and no tattoos.

Anyone with knowledge of her whereabouts is asked to contact the Spokane Police Department at (509) 456-2233, Spotted Eagle at (406) 845-3317 or Grant-Connelly at (406) 450-8356.

There are currently 135 Native American people listed as missing, according to the Washington State Patrol's latest report from July 5. On average, 102 Native Americans may be listed as missing in the state on a given week. Most of those people are reported missing in cities and counties that are not within tribal jurisdiction, such as Spokane, according to Washington State Patrol. Authorities estimate that this number is likely higher because Native American people are often inaccurately reported as white.

The Washington Legislature passed a measure earlier this year mandating that the state police create the Missing Indigenous Person Alert system, as well as a toll-free hotline — (800) 543-5678 — and clearinghouse for missing Native Americans.

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