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Disappearance and killing of Emily Pike

ONGOING2025Mesa, Arizona3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

Emily Pike was a 14-year-old Native American girl from the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona. According to her mother, Steff Dosela, she had an interest in art and was planning to go to college. In September 2023, Tribal Social Services placed Pike in a group home for girls ages 7 to 18 in Mesa, Arizona — more than 100 miles from her home — after she reported being sexually assaulted. Tribal game and fish rangers, rather than police, responded to that report; no suspect was ever arrested, and the case was dropped.

Pike ran away from the group home on at least four occasions before her death. She and another child were reported missing on September 11, 2023, and were later found at Kleinman Park, where they said they did not want to return to the group home. Roughly nine days later, Pike went missing again and was found out walking; body-camera footage showed her pleading with officers not to take her back to the group home, telling them she wanted to be with her grandmother. She was reported missing again on October 31, 2023; hours later, police were told she had returned. In November 2023, officers also responded to a call about a suicide attempt involving Pike.

Pike was last seen leaving the group home on foot on January 27, 2025, at about 7:45 p.m., wearing a pink and gray shirt, according to police. Surveillance cameras captured images of her after she left, though authorities did not disclose where. Mesa police said Pike had a history of fleeing the facility. Her case manager did not tell Dosela that her daughter was missing until about a week later.

On February 27, 2025, the Gila County Sheriff's Office announced that hikers had found human remains in contractor trash bags off Highway 60 on February 14; the remains were later identified as Pike's. Detectives were unable to locate her arms and hands, and an autopsy found trauma to her face and head. The sheriff's office said it was investigating her death as a homicide. According to Dosela, no one had been arrested as of early March 2025, though three potential suspects were being interrogated. The sheriff's office also said private information related to the investigation had been leaked and had spread on Facebook.

On March 2, 2025, foster-care advocates tied yellow ribbons to poles near the location where Pike was last seen. Anika Robinson, who owned a nonprofit that had served Pike since 2023, said Pike's history of running away from the group home stemmed in part from wanting 'a sense of some independence.'

Key facts

Victims
Emily Pike
Date
2025
Location
Mesa, Arizona
Case status
ongoing

Case timeline

  1. 2023-09

    Tribal Social Services placed Pike in a group home for girls ages 7-18 in Mesa, Arizona — more than 100 miles from her home on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation — after she reported being sexually assaulted; tribal game and fish rangers, rather than police, responded to the report, no suspect was arrested, and the case was dropped.

  2. 2023-09-11

    Pike and another child were reported missing and were later found at Kleinman Park, where they said they did not want to return to the group home.

  3. 2023-09-20

    Pike went missing again and was found walking; body-camera footage showed her pleading with officers not to take her back to the group home, saying she wanted to be with her grandmother.

  4. 2023-10-31

    Pike was reported missing again; hours later, police were told that she had returned.

  5. 2023-11

    Officers responded to a call about a suicide attempt involving Pike.

  6. 2025-01-27

    Pike was last seen leaving the group home on foot at about 7:45 p.m., wearing a pink and gray shirt; surveillance cameras captured images of her afterward, though authorities did not disclose where.

  7. 2025-02-14

    Hikers found human remains in contractor trash bags off Highway 60 in Gila County, Arizona; the remains were later identified as Pike's.

  8. 2025-02-27

    The Gila County Sheriff's Office announced the discovery and identification of Pike's remains and said it was investigating her death as a homicide; an autopsy found trauma to her face and head, and her arms and hands could not be located.

  9. 2025-03-02

    Foster-care advocates tied yellow ribbons to poles near the location where Pike was last seen.

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People

  • Emily Pike

    VICTIM

    14-year-old Native American girl from the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation; last seen leaving a group home in Mesa, Arizona, on January 27, 2025. Her remains were found off Highway 60 in Gila County, Arizona, on February 14, 2025, and her death is being investigated as a homicide; no arrests had been made as of early March 2025.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Mesa, Arizona

33.4222, -111.8228

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Common questions

What happened to Emily?
In February 2025, the remains of 14-year-old Emily Pike — a Native American girl from the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation who had left a group home in Mesa, Arizona, on foot on January 27 — were found off Highway 60 in Gila County, Arizona. Her death is being investigated as a homicide; as of early March 2025, no arrests had been made, though her mother said three potential suspects were being interrogated.
Where did the killing happen?
Mesa, Arizona.
What is the current status of the case?
Status: ongoing.
More cases in Arizona

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICDisappearance and killing of Emily PikeWikipedia · 2026-07-12
  2. PRESSMother Remembers Teenage Daughter After Her Remains Are Found in Arizona: 'She Was Just a Baby'People · 2026-07-12
  3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — abc15.comabc15.com · 2026-07-12

Record history

First published
JUL 13, 2026