When Yurok tribal member Danielle Ipiña-Vigil disappeared in San Francisco last summer, her family requested that state police issue a Feather Alert — an emergency notification meant to help authorities locate Indigenous people who go missing in California.
But the request was denied, making Ipiña-Vigil one of three known cases of Native people living in California who went missing in the last year and for whom a Feather Alert request was dismissed. Since the system began a year ago, authorities have issued just two of the five Feather Alerts requested, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A CHP official said local officers denied the requests because they did not meet the criteria , which include that the person went missing under suspicious circumstances and is believed by officials to be in danger.
But the denials have fueled concerns in Native communities that the system meant to help locate missing Indigenous people is not working as intended.
“We’ve had two successful Feather Alerts and numerous denials,” Taralyn Ipiña said while talking about her sister Danielle, who went missing in June, during a somber news conference Wednesday. She was later found, and details on her case are limited. “Being denied a Feather Alert based on opinions contradicts the very basis of [this] legislation.”