Emily Pike, 14, Body Found Dismembered Off US 60, Killer Still on the Loose

Summary

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Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Episode Title: Emily Pike, 14, Body Found Dismembered Off US 60, Killer Still on the Loose

Date: March 18, 2026

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Episode Overview

Nancy Grace takes a hard look at the tragic and unsolved murder of Emily Pike, a 14-year-old Native American girl discovered dismembered off US 60 in Arizona. The episode scrutinizes the events leading up to her death, systemic failures surrounding Emily’s life and investigation, and the larger, disturbing epidemic of violence against Indigenous women and girls. Joined by family, experts, and investigative journalists, Nancy demands answers—calling out law enforcement mishandling, group home failures, and jurisdictional gaps that have left the killer free and the family devastated.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Case of Emily Pike: What Happened?

• Emily Pike, 14, found dismembered off US 60 (02:51)
• Body discovered in multiple trash bags on a lonely desert highway, with arms and hands still missing.
• Cause of death determined as homicidal blunt force trauma—her head was smashed and evidence of violence and dismemberment was found.
  • Quote: “To bludgeon a little girl dead and then dismember her and throw her on the side of the road and in a trash bag like she’s trash. I mean, what other indignity could be done to this child?” – Nancy Grace (12:12)
• The initial notification to Emily’s family was accidentally leaked via Facebook by the sheriff's department, deepening their trauma.
  • Quote: “It was the saddest way to find out.” – Allred Pike Jr., Emily’s uncle (06:57)
• Law enforcement has not identified a suspect and little information is shared with the family.
  • Quote: “From the beginning to now, there’s no real updates regarding my niece’s case.” – Allred Pike Jr. (48:17)

2. Systemic Failures and Neglect

• Removal from home: Emily was sexually assaulted by a male relative at a young age. Instead of the perpetrator being removed, Emily was taken from her family and placed in group homes due to systemic failings.
  • Quote: “She was the victim, but yet she was removed from the home and she never came home.” – Allred Pike Jr. (16:13)
  • The sexual assaulter remained at the home, while Emily was relocated far from relatives desperate to bring her back.
• Emily's distress in group homes: Emily frequently ran away, trying to return to her mother and beloved cat, Millie, and even attempted suicide to avoid group home life.
  • Bodycam audio reveals distressing footage of Emily pleading, “I just want to see my mom.” (19:29, 27:37)
  • Police response: Officers threaten to handcuff her for acting out, further traumatizing Emily.
    • “If you’re going to act like a child, we’re going to put you in handcuffs.” (19:45)
  • Quote: “She is a child. What is wrong with these people?” – Nancy Grace (20:04)
• Notification and transparency breakdown: Family wasn’t notified that Emily was missing until a week after her disappearance; cause of death was leaked online before being conveyed directly.

3. Jurisdictional & Law Enforcement Challenges

• Mishandled communications: Information about the crime and investigation is neither timely nor transparent.
  • Families are left in the dark and lose trust in authorities.
  • “There should be one point of contact… suggests a lack of experience on their part.” – John Bueller, former detective (48:41)
• Native American jurisdictional barriers: Neither local law enforcement nor federal agents can freely investigate crimes on reservations; cases get stalled, resources are thin, and perpetrators go uncaught.
  • Quote: “There are so many unsolved cases… and the fact that she was removed from the home, it doesn’t make sense one bit. It makes so many of us in the community very angry.” – Mary Kim Titla, Executive Director of UNITY (31:48)
  • “You have to allow local law enforcement and the feds onto the reservation to help find missing people and solve unsolved homicides. 5,000 Native American women missing a year is unacceptable.” – Nancy Grace (33:13)
• Evidence challenges: Dismemberment creates significant forensic evidence, making cleanup very difficult, which could be an investigative lead if the primary scene is found.
  • Quote: “When you’re dismembering a body... it’s going to cause blood, bodily fluids, tissue to get everywhere… No matter how good they clean it up, it’ll still be able to be found.” – Dr. Kendall Crowns (46:14)

4. Wider Issues of Indigenous Women & Violence

• MMIW (Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls):
  • Four out of five Indigenous women experience violence in their lifetime.
  • Over 5,000 Native American women go missing each year in the US, and many cases remain unsolved.
  • Quote: “She has become everyone’s daughter, granddaughter, niece.” – Mary Kim Titla (21:54)
  • Tribes and families struggle to trust law enforcement and get justice.
• Efforts for Awareness:
  • Community groups and the family have established a large $200,000 reward for tips.
  • Billboards and a mural have been created to keep Emily’s case in the public eye.
  • Turquoise Alert system and task force initiated—but more action is needed.

5. Advocacy and Calls to Action

• Expert recommendations:
  • Detectives must be allowed to specialize and receive mentorship in violent crimes (“That’s where your success rate comes from.” – John Bueller, 39:44)
  • Violent offenders need tougher prosecution; repeat offenders often escalate.
    • “Soft punishment is very violent to the victim. Twice.” – John Bueller (39:44)
  • Community and citizens must pressure tribal authorities and law enforcement to act: “We as citizens have to do it for them.” – Dr. John de la Torre (37:04)
• Jurisdictional reform advocated: Listeners and citizens urged to support changes so local and federal investigators can intervene in reservation cases.

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Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• “A 14 year old little girl thrown off the side of the highway like she’s trash.”
  — Nancy Grace (02:51)
• On group home trauma:
  “She hated it so much that at one point... tried to hang herself rather than stay in a group home.” – Nancy Grace (10:28)
• On notification heartbreak:
  “That was the saddest way to find out.” – Allred Pike Jr., Emily’s uncle (06:57)
• On law enforcement's failure:
  “Are you ever not shocked anymore?... because I am not.” – Nancy Grace (08:09)
• On MMIWG:
  “Over 5,000 Native American women go missing in the US and nobody seems to care.” – Nancy Grace (20:56) “Justice has not been served in this case. We have to work together. We are searching for answers.” – Mary Kim Titla (21:54)
• On evidence:
  “When you’re dismembering a body… it causes blood… you can’t get all the evidence out. There’ll be DNA.” – Dr. Kendall Crowns (46:14)
• On reward:
  “There’s a nearly quarter million dollar reward for information regarding Emily Pike’s killer.” – Nancy Grace (51:27)
• On second missing teen from same group home:
  “Another teen goes missing from the same group home.” (49:08)
• Dr. de la Torre on what listeners can do:
  “We can absolutely put pressure… these are not cold cases; they can be solved.” (37:04)

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Segment Timestamps

• Emily’s story, crime recap & early investigation (02:51 - 06:54)
• Family finds out via online leak (06:54 - 07:57)
• Expert/Investigator analysis, group home background (08:09 - 15:29)
• Emily's prior sexual assault, failures in child welfare (15:29 - 19:02)
• Play/Discussion of bodycam footage, Emily’s distress (19:02 - 20:14; replayed at 27:27)
• Native women and girls statistics, community response (20:56 - 23:36; 21:54 - 23:36)
• Cause of death details, forensics (12:58 - 15:29)
• Systemic and jurisdictional barriers to justice (31:20 - 34:57)
• Expert panel on what can be done, future reforms (34:57 - 44:29)
• Forensic trace evidence & law enforcement mishandling (46:00 - 48:28)
• Additional missing teen, group home accountability (49:08 - 49:51)
• $200,000 reward & call for leads (50:33 - 51:27)
• Contact numbers for tips (51:27)

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Summary of Calls to Action

• Public urged to come forward with tips about Emily Pike or other missing Indigenous women.
  • Call: 928-200-2352 or 505-917-7830
• Citizens asked to push government, tribal leaders, and law enforcement for procedural reforms and greater accountability.
• Continued awareness: By supporting murals, billboards, and sharing Emily’s story, pressure can be kept on authorities to prevent her case from going cold.

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Final Thoughts

Nancy Grace closes the episode with her hallmark intensity and demand for justice: outrage and sorrow are not enough. She appeals to listeners, law enforcement, and tribal authorities to act. The case of Emily Pike is emblematic of a much larger, dire crisis affecting Native American women and girls—a crisis of violence, invisibility, and legal complexity that must be remedied if justice is ever to be found for Emily and countless others.

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Transcript

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[Nancy Grace]

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[Nancy Grace]

stories with Nancy Grace. The body of a beautiful little girl, just 14 years old, found dismembered off U.S. 60. That little girl identified as missing. Emily Pike. In the last hours, chilling details emerge as we learn the cod cause of death. A 14 year old girl is dead and dismembered. I want justice. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us. A 14 year old little girl thrown off the side of the highway like she's trash.

[Mary Kim Titla]

Four in five indigenous women have experienced violence in their lifetime.

[Nancy Grace]

Emily pike found dismembered. How has this dragged on this long? A 14 year old girl murdered and dismembered. Thrown on the side of the road like she's trashed. I'm not having it to say that

[Susan Hendricks]

I miss you so much and I

[Nancy Grace]

really hope I'll try to see if

[Susan Hendricks]

he can come visit me next time.

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

Not recovered any kind of weapon. Cause of death is still under investigation by the ME's office.

[Nancy Grace]

We're investigating those leads.

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

None of those as of yet have pointed us to a definite suspect or person of interest. With Emily, of course, we believe that she was killed somewhere else and then that is where she was dropped off.

[Nancy Grace]

What do I need to do to put a fire under their tail? That from our friends at CBS 5. And we do as of tonight know the cause of death on this little girl. Straight out to investigative reporter Susan Hendricks joining us. Susan, what do we know about the death and dismemberment of this little girl, Emily Pike?

[Susan Hendricks]

It is devastating to say the least. It's been more than a year, Nancy, just 14 years old, her body dismembered, found on the side of a road in construction like garbage bags. And get this, the way the family was notified, it was allegedly accidentally leaked on Facebook by the sheriff's department and now they say they're working on it. There is outrage, but does that mean the sheriff's department is doing anything? And if so, what?

[Nancy Grace]

Isn't it true? Susan hendricks I would like to see Susan, that the arms and the hands of this little girl have not been found.

[Susan Hendricks]

It's just unthinkable. They haven't been found and there's little confidence that they will be found because the sheriff's office isn't saying much. And are they acting on much? Are they looking at this as a cold case? Are they just disregarding it? It's just my heart goes out to the family and you're right. Where are you?

[Nancy Grace]

Why Susan Hendricks? Is it because she is a Native American? Is that why? Joining me? An all star panel. But I want to go to a very special guest joining us tonight. It's ole Red Pike Jr. This is Emily's paternal uncle. Mr. Pike, thank you for being with us. Is it true that you learned information about Emily just 14 years ago? Years old murder through a. A unintentionally leaked post online?

[Allred Pike Jr.]

Yes. That's how we found out

[Nancy Grace]

what happened.

[Allred Pike Jr.]

I got a call from my sister saying that there was information through social media that our niece may have passed away. And that was the saddest way to find out.

[Nancy Grace]

I want to go to John Bueller. You know him well. He was already famous within his ranks for being an incredible detective and homicide. But the world found out who John Bueller was during the Scott Peterson double murder trial. Bueller, former detective, Modesto PD. 31 years in robbery homicide. You know what, John, I want to introduce you over The Airways to Mr. Allred Pike Jr. This is Emily's paternal uncle. I can still remember like it was yesterday, the moment I was told my fiance was dead. It didn't dawn on me he could have been murdered, but I remember exactly. Do you ever. Are you ever not shocked anymore? Are you to the point where you're like, eh, it happens? Because I am not. First of all, for this to happen to this little girl and seemingly nobody cares. Her arms and hands missing and they find out, the family finds out through a leaked post that. Does that still burn you up or are you just like completely numb at this point? John?

[John Bueller]

I'm not numb to it. When you hear it, it's. It strikes. But it's when you see the photographs of this young girl that it really becomes haunting. And then to see how there was some goof up on the. The part there at their office where they leaked that information, probably unintentionally, but somebody did that and, and you know, you. You can't let this stuff happen.

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

But Mueller.

[Nancy Grace]

Unintentional. Fine, unintentional. An accident. What's worse, really? Someone so incompetent that they have an accident accident like that, that like, slices the soul of the family. They're that incompetent or.

[John Bueller]

Well, that's definitely incompetent.

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

Motive.

[Nancy Grace]

That they did it on purpose for pizza. I don't know which is worse. Bueller.

[John Bueller]

Yeah. And it strikes for the family because it puts them in a position where they're going to lose confidence in the sheriff's office and whoever else is involved in assisting in this investigation. It's. It's a terrible way to go about It. But other mistakes were made, too, and things that we can talk about.

[Nancy Grace]

I don't like the way you said that. Just warning right now. Other mistakes were made. You just like it shrilled off your tongue. Mistakes, my rear end. This has been months and months and months since Emily went missing and was found murdered. Back to all Red Pike Jr. Emily's uncle. Mr. Pike, did you believe it at first when you heard about this post, this online post? Or did you think it was just bs like it's a prank? That's horrible. Prank. What did you think

[Allred Pike Jr.]

of social media? I asked my sister, are you sure it's our niece? Because half the time, most of the stuff on social media are not true. But she told me that it was pretty much verified it was her, and I was confused. Why did it come from social media and not from law enforcement?

[Nancy Grace]

All this little girl, Emily pike wanted was to go home to her mom, to her grandma, and her little cat, Millie. But she didn't get her wish. The Apache teen girl spent the last two years of her life in and out of group homes. She hated it so much that at one point, this little girl who wanted so desperately to go home, tried to hang herself rather than stay in a group home. Home was made up of multiple people, an extended family. How in the world did this little girl, who had lived through so much already, end up dead on the side of the road? And why do we have no leads? Nothing straight out to a name you know? Well, Dr. Kendall Crowns, Chief medical examiner, Tarrant County. He is the star of hit podcast Mayhem in the Morgue, which, By the way, Dr. Crowns, I love. I always learn something. And you tell all of your medical findings in an anecdote, a story, a true story that I can understand. He is the esteemed lecturer at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU. Dr. Kendall Crowns. What do you make of the recent news that we're just learning that the COD cause of death on this little girl was homicidal violence? Bludgeoning. I mean, I'm gonna have to go to shrink on this after you. Dr. Kendall crowns to bludgeon a little girl dead and then dismember her and throw her on the side of the road and in a trash bag like she's trash. I mean, what other indignity could be done to this child? And no answers. No answers. I'm happy. Let's see the mural. I'm happy they put up a mural because it will remind people that Emily Pike's case is not solved. I'm happy that they care, but I want answers. This is not justice. Dr. Crowns, tell me your analysis of the recently discovered COD cause of death.

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

So with the cause of death of homicidal violence with blunt head trauma, it's saying that she's had her head smashed, possibly skull fractures, beaten, et cetera. About the head. But the homicidal violence part is because the dismemberment and the fact that they don't have the complete body, they can't rule out other forms of violence, like sharp force violence, even gunshot injury. Because without the. With an incomplete body, you don't have all the answers. But they know that she was murdered. And there is a blunt force component to it. But they're adding on the homicidal violence because of the dismemberment, because of the incomplete body. Who knows what else could have been done? There could be cut marks all over the arms. The hands could have been chopped off purposely before she was dead. She could have been shot in the arms. Who knows? So that's why you've gotten this kind of vague homicidal violence with the blunt head trauma.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, hold on just a moment. I need to analyze what you just said. Dr. Kendall crowns since this child. And to Mr. Pike. I'm sorry to discuss the facts so bluntly, but this is the nature of a homicide investigation. Dr. Kendall crowns. The body's been dismembered. So how do we know homicidal violence. Is it based on her upper torso and head?

[Susan Hendricks]

What?

[Nancy Grace]

How do we know homicidal violence? How did the medical examiner come up with that? You've done it many times. How'd you do it?

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

So homicidal violence is basically, they're saying they're unsure of what else could have been inflicted, but they know that it's violence done intentionally to the individual. The fact that she's been dismembered and you don't have all the body parts, they can't rule out something else having happened to the body as well. Like I said, there could be gunshot wounds, there could be stab wounds of the arms that they have been able to determine yet because they don't have those findings. When a body is dismembered, if the individual is still alive, you will see changes in the skin and the muscle with hemorrhages that you can note, and then you know they were dismembered while alive. If they're dismembered after death, the actual dismembered body parts have kind of a dried tan look to the areas of dismemberment. So you can get an idea of whether the injuries happened with the living or with death. But again, homicidal violence is kind of a catch all term when they're unsure of what else may have been inflicted.

[Nancy Grace]

I want to go back to Mr. Allred Pike Jr. This is Emily's uncle. Her death and dismemberment to me is horrific enough, Mr. Pike, but isn't it true that while living at home she was sex assaulted by a male relative? I mean, she's only 14 at the time of her death, so I don't know her age when that happened to her, that sex violence on a little girl. And as a result of that, she was taken out of the home while the alleged assaulter got to stay home. Did that happen?

[Allred Pike Jr.]

Those were the allegations. That's why she was removed from the home. And the justice system was backwards. You know, she was the victim, but yet she was removed from the home and she never came home. She was out there for over two years.

[Nancy Grace]

Two years because a lot of people think. Susan Hendricks. Guys, let me properly introduce my colleague from way back at CNN's HLM. Susan Hendricks is joining us. Investigative journalist. She is also the author of a hit book down the My Descent into the Double Murder in Delphi. And that's referring to the murders of two other little girls. That would be Abby and Libby in Delphi. Remember? The little girls taken off the trestle bridge and murdered by Richard Allen, the local pharmacy tech. Right, that Susan Hendricks. Let me understand what I'm hearing because when I look at my little girl or my little boy, John, David and Lucy, sometimes they're just so precious to me, I just want to cry just to look at them. Breaks my heart. This little girl at, let's see, at at least 12, if not younger, her sex assaulted by a male relative on the Apache reservation. Nothing happened to the perp. So the perp still living near the home compound and she gets removed from the home and put in a group home, which she hates. She wants to go home to her mother, her grandmother, her little bitty kitty cat. But no, a lot of people think Emily pike was somehow disobedient, was a juvenile delinquent. Not that that would matter because she was murdered. But that is not what happened. She was sex assaulted. I don't know the details because they're buried, buried deep within the reservation archives, but I do know she was sex assaulted and she somehow is the one that gets punished. Isn't that true?

[Susan Hendricks]

It is backwards, what her uncle said. And my heart goes out to you all red and he could speak to this. She's very close to her cousins. They call themselves the Trio. She loves Sparkle. She was a young girl, just 14 years old, wanted to be there with her mom and she gets in trouble. She gets thrown out of the house. She was a loving 14 year old and wanted to be there. There's body cam footage, Nancy, that I watched yesterday where she says, I don't want to go back. I want my mom. And my heart broke for that, for her.

[Nancy Grace]

You are seeing body cam footage right now, and I want you to hear it. Remember, this is all because she was sex assaulted. Listen, Emily, stop. Come with me, okay?

[Susan Hendricks]

No, I don't want to go back.

[Nancy Grace]

I know.

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Let's talk, ok?

[Nancy Grace]

No, it's okay. Hey, hey.

[Commercial Advertiser]

It's okay.

[Nancy Grace]

You're not in trouble, okay? Hey, hey, hey.

[Commercial Advertiser]

I can't let you go, okay?

[Nancy Grace]

I just want to see my mom.

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

All right?

[Nancy Grace]

Come here.

[John Bueller]

We'll call your mom, okay?

[Nancy Grace]

It's okay. It's okay. Come on.

[John Bueller]

I will call your mom for you, okay?

[Commercial Advertiser]

It's okay.

[Nancy Grace]

Hey, Emily, listen, I'm here to help you, okay? No one's helping me. Well, you gotta. Well, that's not gonna help things either. That's gonna help me. If you're gonna act like a child, we're gonna put you in handcuffs. Stop it. I really don't want to put you

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

in handcuffs, young lady, okay?

[Nancy Grace]

I just wanna go home. You. She is a child. What is wrong with these people, John Bueller?

[John Bueller]

Well, you run into these situations with people and not everybody's trained well enough. And they don't always have the patience to deal with them properly. But the system definitely failed. This. This little girl just. I echo what you said about how she was removed from the house, if all. Why should she be removed? It seemed like the offender should have been taken out of there purely a victim, multiple times, ignored, tossed aside, and just not given what she needed to have a good life. Disposable young children. It breaks heart every single time. And there's just so many of them. This one's a highlight because she's so pretty and she's so young, but there's so many more like that. And those are the things that haunt you even after you retire.

[Nancy Grace]

In this job, average over 5,000. 5,000 Native American women go missing in the US and nobody seems to care. Now, joining me in addition to Mr. Pike, Allred Pike Jr. Speaking out on behalf of his niece, Emily Mary Kim Titla. She is the executive director of Unity, which is United National Indian Tribal Youth Inc. Mary Kim I really don't know how you do it. I don't know how I do it. I don't know how I did it. For over a decade, every single day, seeing the worst, I managed to get through and still get through because I, I care about the victims and feel this is all we can do for them at this juncture. What do you make of what has happened to Emily Pike? And still no answers. It's just been one debacle after the next.

[Mary Kim Titla]

It's heart wrenching to watch the videos, to see the photos, to be reminded of what happened to this precious little girl. She has become everyone's daughter, granddaughter, niece. And in Indian country, I represent a segment of the population that is, you know, the horrible statistics involve Native women and girls who go missing every year and are found murdered. We have so many that are still missing. So justice has not been served in this case. We have to work together. We are searching for answers. There has been more awareness. We have the Turquoise Alert. So there have been some positive steps that have happened. But we have a lot of work to do to prevent this from happening again. My heart breaks and continues to break every time I go home because I pass the billboards that are publicized, the reward. There's reminders with the mural that you saw. She is never far from our minds. I'm a mother. I'm a grandmother. I fear for the fact that the murderer or murderers are still on the loose. We want justice and we have to work together to make that happen.

[Nancy Grace]

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[Nancy Grace]

Life moves really quickly at American Military University. They're ready to help you keep up. AMU's flexible, affordable online programs in cybersecurity, IT space studies and more are designed for service members, veterans and their families. AMU provides the support you need to take the next step wherever life takes you. American Military University built for what's next. Learn more at AMU Apus. Edu. That's AMU Apus Edu Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Emily kept running away from one group home after the next, trying to get back to her own family. The last time, Emily didn't make it. After running away from the group home, her body, not even a body remained. She was dismembered. Were found Valentine's Day, stuffed in two trash bags and thrown onto a patch of dirt on a lonely, lonely desert highway in the Tonto National Forest, five miles from the boundary line of the reservation. Emily, stop. Come with me, okay? No, I don't want to go back. I know.

[Commercial Advertiser]

Let's talk, okay?

[Nancy Grace]

It's okay.

[Commercial Advertiser]

Hey, hey. It's okay.

[Nancy Grace]

You're not in trouble, okay? Hey, hey, hey.

[Commercial Advertiser]

I can't let you go, okay?

[Nancy Grace]

Get off. I just want to see my mom.

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

All right?

[Nancy Grace]

Come here.

[John Bueller]

We'll call your mom, okay?

[Nancy Grace]

It's okay. Come on. They won't let me tell.

[Commercial Advertiser]

It's okay.

[John Bueller]

Come on. I will call your mom for you, okay?

[Commercial Advertiser]

No, it's okay.

[Nancy Grace]

Go back to that place. Hey, hey, Emily, listen, I'm here to help you, okay? No one's helping me. Well, you got us. Well, that's not going to help things either. It's going to help me. If you're going to act like a

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

child, we're going to put your handcuffs.

[Nancy Grace]

Stop it.

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

I really don't want to put you in handcuffs, young lady, okay?

[Nancy Grace]

I just want to go home. We still haven't found her arms or hands.

[Susan Hendricks]

Now we've got some body parts in a bag.

[Nancy Grace]

How come her mother wasn't told about

[Mary Kim Titla]

this for one month?

[Nancy Grace]

What is going on here?

[Allred Pike Jr.]

It's hard to hear exactly what happened to her.

[Nancy Grace]

Emily pike, just 14 years old at the time of her death, had been sex assaulted on the Indian reservation. After that, she is removed from the family home. The perp stayed there and she's put in one group home after the next. Of course, she runs away trying to get back to mom. You saw the video of her begging and crying. Then she was putting in handcuffs. Now we have an official cod Cause of death, homicidal blunt trauma. Her arms and hands have not been recovered. Back to Allred Pike Jr. This is Emily's paternal uncle, Mr. Pike. Again, thank you for being with us tonight. Mr. Pike, does the mother and or the grandmother know the cause of death on Emily? Have they been told?

[Allred Pike Jr.]

Yes, they know the cause of death and, you know, just can't. There's no words to describe how they're feeling.

[Nancy Grace]

I'd like you to try.

[Allred Pike Jr.]

I know that shattered them, but to know how she had passed away and what was done to her, I mean, even I was in shock. And you're right, the part of her body parts have not been found.

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

And it's.

[Allred Pike Jr.]

It hurts to know that the people who did this are.

[Nancy Grace]

Haven't been caught in the last hours. The county medical examiner's office releases cause of death on little Emily, found dismembered in the woods after being reported missing from her group home in Mesa. She was found dead on Valentine's Day in the woods north of Globe. The full report yet to be released, but we do know blunt force trauma and homicidal violence. No arrests, no arrests. Allred Pike Jr. I'm curious. Did the mom and the grandma try to get her out of the group home and put the sex assaulter behind bars? What happened with that? Why was she the one taken away from the home?

[Allred Pike Jr.]

That I'm not sure of. I believe my sisters had tried to take her in, but there were issues that just. They couldn't navigate through the. Get her to stay with them up in Utah or Denver.

[Nancy Grace]

To Mary Kim Titla joining us. She is the executive director of Unity United National Indian Tribal Youth. I don't understand. Again, and at this point, this is a side issue because the real issue is who murdered Emily Pike. But I don't understand why the assaulter was allowed to stay at the family compound and Emily was the one forced out. And then the system was so difficult to navigate. Mom couldn't get her back.

[Mary Kim Titla]

It doesn't make sense. And what I would like to address is something that was mentioned earlier, and that's confidence in law enforcement. It's shot. There is a lack of trust among Native Americans when it comes to law enforcement, and rightly so, because there are so many unsolved cases. The handling of crimes involving Native Americans, it's a sad reality. There have been so many unsolved cases and, and the fact that she was removed from the home, it doesn't make sense one bit. It makes so many of us in the community very angry the way this was handled on so many levels. We have to have accountability. We have to make sure that there's oversight. And it does mean people working together. There is now a task force on the reservation. There is now a community group raising funds to put up these billboards to raise awareness. I'm glad that people are working together, but more must be done to prevent these things from happening. We have to know what it's going to take to keep our children safe, whether they're on the reservation or taken away. So we have to work together to make sure that this never happens again.

[Nancy Grace]

Well, I have one suggestion, and that would be to allow local law enforcement and the feds onto the reservation to help find missing people and solve unsolved homicides. 5000 Native American women missing a year is unacceptable. But isn't it true, Mary Kim, that on Indian reservations, local law enforcement and the feds, neither one have any jurisdiction. They cannot come in and investigate a case. Isn't that true?

[Mary Kim Titla]

There are jurisdictional issues and that must be addressed. You're absolutely right. There are limitations. And it does seem to take so much time to get these cases solved. There's not enough resources. We know that we must work to together and lift these limitations so that we can solve these crimes. It is unacceptable that there are so many unsolved crimes. And we don't want this to become a cold case. We are fighting very hard to make sure that Emily Pike's name and case stays in the forefront. But every day that slips away, it seems to get further and further away. And we don't want want that to happen. So we have to keep raising our voices and making sure that law enforcement knows that this is, you know, of high importance. We can't let this become a cold case.

[Nancy Grace]

To Dr. John de la Torre, joining us, renowned psychologist, mediator, specializing in forensic psychology at resolution f fcs.com Dr. De la Torre, thank You for being with us. It's very difficult for me to sit by and hear this because I feel there's nothing we can do. And I'm going to get Bueller to comment on this because local law enforcement not allowed on Native American reservations. Feds, no jurisdiction at all. So what can we do? Not a d a m n thing, nothing. The. And we're seeing this unfold in the Nancy Guthrie case, right? We see the feds and I experienced it. I was a fed for three years before I became a felony prosecutor in inner city Atlanta. I know the feds have all of the resources, they have all of the technology that local law enforcement does not have. So this is an injustice to Emily pike and it just burns me up to hear her case is unsolved and just the entire. The whole package is a hot stinking mess. The way she was taken out of the home when she is a sex assault victim, the perp allowed to stay, probably never brought to justice. And now this. The way she was treated, handcuffed. A little girl handcuffed like that. I mean, let me just throw it at you, Delatori. I don't even know where to start.

[Dr. John de la Torre]

Well, let's start with that police body cam that we saw. So we know that she was sexually assaulted. Now, maybe the police. Police didn't know, but it is absolutely awful the way that they manhandle her.

[Nancy Grace]

Hold on, Delatori. That's why she got removed. She got removed. They did know. They don't know that she was removed. Right.

[Dr. John de la Torre]

Responding officers don't know when they're interacting with her, what actually has happened to her. But it is already awful that they're manhandling her the way that they are. I mean, look at her. She is trying to fight them off. And so that already tells me something about how she is going to be interacting with adult men. She's fighting them off as best as she can, but they're still overpowering her. So we can absolutely start there. We can also start with, well, what can we do? Well, as citizens, we can put pressure on all of these organizations, including the reservation, including the tribe. We can put pressure on having them actually solve this case and the thousands of other cases that have gone unsolved. We can absolutely put pressure on them to take a look at members within the tribe. Most likely they're probably being protected by the tribe and they're pro. The perpetrator of this offense is probably there on the reservation, which is probably why her hands are missing, because it contains the DNA of whoever Assaulted her. Emily is just one. I mean, this is the one we're talking about. But there's so many other women, there are so many other victims that deserve to have their cases solved, and they're just not. And so we as citizens, have to do it for them.

[Nancy Grace]

Dr. De la Torre, you just talked me off the ledge here because everything you said is correct. And to throw your hands up in exasperation and frustration, that's not the answer that will get me and Emily nowhere fast. Back to John Bueller, former detective, Modesto PD Right now, we are trying to help solve the Emily pike murder. And I don't want to spend the rest of our few moments together, our group tonight, rehashing what went wrong. But what do you make? I mean, is there any hope? What do we do now? The case is a year old, a year and a month old. We've got a task force formed between the locals and the tribe, and I believe the FBI is in on it, but I don't see really any advancement. They claim there may be a poi, maybe at this juncture. I know you've worked on plenty of cold cases, as have I, and it is not easy to resurrect a cold case. It's hard. What do you advise right now, Bueller?

[John Bueller]

Well, there's a couple of things that could be done in the future. And number one, you have to allow detectives to specialize in violent crimes so that they gain experience, they gain training, not just in the classroom, but being mentored by senior detectives that show them how to work the case. They should be allowed to gain that experience. And there's where your success rate comes when you're working a case like that. There were many cases I never would have solved if I wouldn't have been trained by the guy who trained me. Me. And then over and above that, the one thing that strikes me that we're not talking about too much is the guy who did this probably has done it before. Now, maybe he hasn't murdered before, but he's probably a violent offender. He's went through the court system many times, and they've just passed him along when there's no accountability for the people that are making decisions about punishment. And I'm speaking specifically of judges. They have all the time in the world to make a decision on what they do. But violent offenders need to be kept behind bars because they can't function in society. And then you don't have victims like Emily in the future. But soft punishment is very violent to the victim. Twice when they were victimized and then afterwards for their family. Those are things that just kind of pop into my head on the spur of the moment.

[Nancy Grace]

Her case manager finally came a week later to tell me that she was missing.

[Commercial Advertiser]

Mesa police report Emily pike as missing to the National Crime Information center the evening of January 27, the same day police got word of her disappearance. Her mother is not even informed of Emily leaving the group home until her 14 year old daughter has been missing for a full week. Police say it is up to the group home to contact her case manager, who would then have contacted Pike's family or tribe.

[Nancy Grace]

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[Nancy Grace]

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[Commercial Advertiser]

In a shocking turn of events, information about the remains of Emily pike is leaked on Facebook, revealing gruesome details that were not intended for the public. The Gila County Sheriff's Office posts information that detectives found the head and torso in large contractor trash bags and the legs were found in separate bags. Detectives searched the area but failed to find the arms and hands. The teen had visible face and head trauma. No identifying clothing, jewelry or identification is found with the remains. The cause of death is still undetermined. Deputies say there's no indication that there is an active threat to the community.

[Nancy Grace]

Straight out to Susan Hendricks joining us. Investigative journalist Susan, isn't it true that. Well, it's kind of obvious, but Emily was murdered at a primary crime scene. Where her remains were found is at least a secondary, if not tertiary crime scene. Isn't that true?

[Susan Hendricks]

Yeah, that is true. She was thrown out like trash basically in the middle of nowhere. I think it's about an hour outside of Mesa, Arizona. And as we were just listening to that report. What do you mean that people aren't in immediate danger? They are in immediate danger. And these loopholes and the lack of communication, someone, a lot of criminals, multiple people are benefiting from this. How do we know this guy's not a serial killer and he's still out there? And like you said, Nancy, outrage doesn't equal justice. And it just makes you think, what can we do? What can law enforcement do?

[Nancy Grace]

Analyze this case. For starters, to Dr. Kendall Crowns, when a person, a human is dismembered, is almost impossible to get rid of any trace evidence. Explain.

[Dr. Kendall Crowns]

When you're dismembering a body, depending especially on how you dismember it, sawing or cutting with implements, it's going to cause blood, bodily fluids, tissue to get everywhere. It's going to get on your clothing, on the furniture, it'll get on the floor. And then of course, when you place it in trash bags, the trash bags aren't completely sealed. It'll leak out in the car or whatever vehicle you use to transport the bodies in or body. So anything that was involved in the portion of the case where there's dismemberment is going to have DNA evidence on it. No matter how good they clean it up, it'll still be able to be found.

[Nancy Grace]

If that evidence is still there this much time later. But as you just pointed out, it's really hard to clean away trace evidence from a dismemberment. There can be blood in every nook and cranny, every tiny hole in the floor, especially when you have, well, carpet, hardwood, linoleum, you name it. It's really hard to get every speck of blood out. But we've got to find that location. According to reports tonight, there may be one person of interest on the radar. It's speculative at this juncture, but according to one law enforcement official, Emily may have been kidnapped by an older man based in the area of Globe, Arizona. Someone they think she trusted. That's all we know now after this many months, that's all we've got. Back to all Red Pike Jr. This is Emily's paternal uncle. What, if anything, is law enforcement telling you or Emily's mom

[Allred Pike Jr.]

on the dad side of the family? We don't really hear nothing from law enforcement from the beginning to now. There's no real updates regarding my niece's case.

[Nancy Grace]

John Bueller, former Detective, Modesto PD how can that be? That the family is told nothing? I know this, but they don't. How can that be, John?

[John Bueller]

Well, to me it shows a lack of experience because generally you're going to have one detective that's going to make constant contact with the family and give them updates and then that person in the family will be broadcast that, that information to other family members. You can't talk to everybody, but there should be one point of contact that they do suggests a lack of, of experience on, on their part. To me, I don't know for sure because I'm not there, but that's kind of what it looks like here, you know, from this, this seat.

[Nancy Grace]

We also learn that another teen goes missing from the same group home.

[Commercial Advertiser]

During the investigation of Emily Pike's disappearance from a group home in Mesa, Arizona, it is revealed that another teen has been missing group home since May of last year. Mesa PD says the group home notified them when 17 year old Veronica Cruz went missing from the home on May 18, 2024 and has been missing ever since. They don't know who she's with or where she is and points out that Cruz will be 18 next month. Mesa PD says that's not good enough because she is under 18. They need to physically verify that Cruz is safe and under the care of a guardian before changing her status

[Nancy Grace]

straight back out to John Bueller. John, I'm just trying to advance the case, advance the investigation. Finger pointing and recriminations will not advance the investigation. We do know that There is a $200,000 reward, $200,000 on the table for information leading to the whereabouts of the perp who murdered and dismembered this little girl. I mean, John Bueller, shouldn't that jog somebody's memory? For Pete's sake, that's nearly a quarter million dollars.

[John Bueller]

Well, you'd think it would, especially if two people were involved. One's going to probably turn on the other for that amount of money. Also, if you've got family members or friends of the perpetrator, if they see he's missing, or if maybe he has unaccounted for time or something's going on with his life that they think is strange and might be linked to this, those are the people that need to call in and give the locals help on this thing because they can't do it alone. There's only so much that physical evidence can do for you. There's only so much that circumstantial evidence can do for you in a case like this. They do need some help from somebody. Now they also may have more information than they're letting out and they're keeping that close to the vest and I get that and that's definitely something that they want to do. But the mere fact that the trash bag information was released and where the body was and the condition was in, those are not good things to release because those are things that you want to keep close in the investigation to verify information when you're interviewing a suspect.

[Nancy Grace]

John Bueller, I only pray that you are right that the local authorities know more than they are letting on. If you know or think you know anything about the disappearance of little Emily pike, please call the local sheriffs. 928-200-2352 repeat, 928-200-2352 or 5059-1778-3050-5917-7830. There's a nearly quarter million dollar reward for information regarding Emily Pike's killer. Nancy Grace, signing off. Goodbye friend.

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[Nancy Grace]

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[Nancy Grace]

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