Sadly, a few days ago, the news in Denver reported that authorities had identified the remains of Marcie Fairchild, who had been missing for months. Fairchild was found not far from where she lived, and the medical examiner has not yet established a cause of death. Oddly, at least for me, was the fact that early in the search, authorities had issued something called a Missing Indigenous Person Alert (MIPA) because Fairchild had been affiliated with the Cheyenne-Arapaho tribe. I had never heard of such an alert, so I looked into it.
Colorado is the third state to embrace this alert. Following the lead of Washington state and trying to out-California California, in 2022, our ultra-blue Colorado legislature and governor introduced the MIPA to take its place alongside the well-known Amber Alert, and a raft of other alerts specific to at-risk seniors, hit-and-run drivers, dangerous attackers of peace officers, and a miscellaneous alert that may be issued for all other endangered persons.
The MIPA alert is part of this roster of identity-specific alerts. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (“CBI”) issues it when someone with a known tribal affiliation disappears. If that…
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