Additional Coverage:
Airman Arrested in Murder of Missing South Dakota Woman
A US Air Force member stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the death of Sahela Sangrait, a 21-year-old South Dakota woman who had been missing for nearly seven months. Sangrait’s remains were discovered by a hiker in early March. Investigators determined she was killed at the base, located near Box Elder, where Sangrait resided.
The suspect, identified as Quinterius Chappelle, is an active-duty airman and is currently being held at the Pennington County Jail for the US Marshals Service. The case will be prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office. According to reports, Chappelle joined the Air Force in 2019 and worked as an aircraft inspection journeyman.
Sangrait was last seen on August 10th, when she was staying with a friend on the Cheyenne River Reservation. She reportedly planned to retrieve belongings from Box Elder before heading to California, but lost contact with friends and family thereafter.
This case highlights the ongoing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women in the United States. Sangrait’s identification as Native American brings attention to the disproportionately high rates of violence against Indigenous women, both on and off reservations.
Thousands of cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people remain unsolved nationwide. In South Dakota alone, dozens of Indigenous women are currently missing.