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In early May, 2022, 41-year-old Muscogee (Creek) Nation member Cara Marie Cox set out from Seminole, Oklahoma in her boyfriend’s semi truck, leaving behind her bright-green Honda Del Sol. Her car was found abandoned at a Love’s Travel Stop off Interstate 40, where she had left it for their road trip.

She’d been traveling with a long-haul truck driver whose story kept changing. Was she left behind … or did someone make sure she never came home?

In this episode of Vanished Voices, we trace Cara’s final days, the conflicting accounts that followed, and the larger crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women along America’s highways. Cara’s family still searches for truth — and refuses to let her name fade into the noise of the road.

If you know anything about Cara Marie Cox—or believe you may have seen someone who matches her description—please contact:

• BIA Missing & Murdered Unit (MMU): Text “BIAMMU” + your tip to 847411, or call 1-833-560-2065
• Seminole County Sheriff’s Office: (405) 257-5445

To read more about this case and see the resources used in the episode, visit our blog here.

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Fourteen-year-old Henny Scott disappeared on a freezing December night near Lame Deer, Montana. Twenty days later, her body was found just 200 yards from where she was last seen. Officials called it hypothermia. Her family says that’s not the full story.

In this episode, we follow Henny’s final known footsteps, trace the failures of the investigation, and listen to the voice that mattered most — her mother’s. What emerges is a haunting pattern of delay, neglect, and silence in Big Horn County, where too many Indigenous girls have gone missing and too few have seen justice.

What really happened to Henny? Why did no one look for her in time? And why are so many Native families forced to become their own investigators?

This is Henny Scott’s story — told with truth, love, and the urgency it deserves.

To see more about this case, as well as the sources used to create this episode, visit our Blog Here.

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On September 26, 2016, 21-year-old Keeshae Jacobs texted her mom to say she’d arrived safely at a friend’s house. She ended the message with “I love you.” That was the last anyone ever heard from her.

In this episode, we follow the trail of a deeply loved daughter, sister, and friend who vanished overnight—and the nearly eight-year fight her mother, Toni Jacobs, waged to find answers. We unravel the details of Keeshae’s final known movements, the chilling inconsistencies in the stories told, and the failures that allowed her case to go cold for years.

Through family memories, community leads, and law enforcement revelations, we explore what it means to search for truth when urgency never came—and how one woman’s determination refused to let her daughter be forgotten. This is the story of Keeshae Jacobs.

If you have any information about Keeshae’s disappearance or remains, please contact the Richmond Police Department Major Crimes Division at (804) 646-5984 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at (804) 780-1000 or online here.

To see more about this case, as well as the sources used to create this episode, visit our Blog Here.

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In August of 2003, nineteen-year-old Sonya Ivanoff walked home through the quiet streets of Nome, Alaska — a college student, basketball player, and proud Inupiaq woman with her whole life ahead of her. Two days later, her body was found on the edge of town.

The man responsible wasn’t a stranger. He was one sworn to protect.

In this episode, we share Sonya’s story — who she was before that night, what happened in the investigation that followed, and how her murder exposed a painful truth about the vulnerability of Indigenous women in Alaska.

Through her family’s words, community outrage, and the lasting impact of her case, we examine how trust in law enforcement was shattered, and what it revealed about the ongoing crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

Her name was Sonya Ivanoff. And her story deserves to be remembered.

To learn more about this case, as well as the sources used to create this episode, visit our Blog Here.

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On the night of July 4, 2002, 44-year-old Laverda Sorrell, a Diné mother of three, celebrated her 15th wedding anniversary with dinner in Gallup, New Mexico. Later that night, her husband said he dropped her off at her workplace in Fort Defiance, Arizona. She was never seen again.

For more than two decades, her family has lived in the shadow of unanswered questions. Why would Laverda go to her office at 11:30 p.m. on a holiday? Who was the last person to truly see her? And how did a case with so many red flags fade into silence for over twenty years?

For years, the case sat stagnant. The family felt ignored, like their calls for help were echoing into the void. Laverda’s disappearance isn’t just an individual tragedy — it’s a reflection of a system that still fails far too many Indigenous families.

Laverda’s case remains unsolved. The FBI continues to offer a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

If you know anything about the disappearance of Laverda Sorrell, please contact the FBI Albuquerque Field Office at (505) 889-1300 or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

Listen, share, and help keep her story alive.

To learn more about Laverda's case, and to see the resources used to create this episode, check out our Blog Here.

Thank you so much for listening to Vanished Voices. We truly appreciate you!

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Rosenda Strong was a 31-year-old mother, sister, and beloved member of the Yakama Nation. In 2018, she disappeared after leaving home for what was supposed to be a short outing.

Over nine months later, her body was found in a freezer in a remote location. Yet, years on, her family is still left with questions, without full justice, and without closure.

In this episode of Vanished Voices, we tell Rosenda’s story—not just the tragedy of her disappearance, but the life she lived and the family who continues to fight for her.

We also explore how her case sheds light on the larger Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis, one that impacts Native communities across the United States and Canada, and why voices like Rosenda’s must never be forgotten.

Resources

• National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center – MMIW Toolkit & Resources NIWRC
• StrongHearts Native Helpline (24/7 support) Office for Victims of Crime
• Association on American Indian Affairs – Survivor Resources & Toolkits Association on American Indian Affairs
• Not Our Native Daughters (advocacy & awareness) Not Our Native Daughters
• Lakota People’s Law Project – MMIW Resource Guide lakotalaw.org
• The Vanished (Yakama Reservation missing persons project)
  Yakima Herald-Republic
• U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs – Missing and Murdered Indigenous People bia.gov
• Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls: A Snapshot of Data from 71 Urban Cities — UIHI
• Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls Report — UIHI
• Missing or Murdered Indigenous Women: New Efforts Are Underway — U.S. Government Accountability Office
• Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) — Congressional Research Congress.gov
• Final Report: The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (Canada) — MMIWG FFADA
• The Silent and Often Invisible Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls — National Partnership
• Reports on Violence Against Indigenous Women Are Gone from Federal Sites —

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On June 15, 2021, 33-year-old Ranelle Rose Bennett hugged her mother a little longer than usual. Later that day, she promised to help decorate for her daughter’s birthday party. But she never showed up. That night, a 10-year-old girl sat by the window waiting for her mom, sending unanswered texts: “Mom, remember it’s my birthday today.”

Ranelle, a mother of two and a member of the Navajo Nation, vanished from her home in Hogback, New Mexico, and has never been seen again. Her sudden disappearance was met with delays, jurisdictional confusion, and silence from the very agencies meant to help. A month later, her boyfriend — already wanted on federal charges — was arrested in connection with a violent crime spree, only adding to the questions about what happened to Ranelle.

In this episode, we trace the timeline of Ranelle’s disappearance, the devastating wait her family has endured, and the few haunting clues that remain — a pair of shoes and a sweater found on the mesas outside Shiprock. Along the way, we examine the theories, the breakdowns in the investigation, and the larger crisis facing Indigenous communities.

If you know anything about the disappearance of Ranelle Rose Bennett, please contact:

• The Navajo Nation Police Department in Shiprock at (505) 368-1350
• The Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing & Murdered Unit tip line at 1-833-560-2065
• or text “BIAMMU” plus your tip to 847411

Thank you so much for listening to Vanished Voices. We truly appreciate you!

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In June of 2017, twenty-year-old Ashley Loring HeavyRunner vanished from the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana. What began as an ordinary night at a party turned into the start of a desperate search — one that would uncover lost evidence, unanswered questions, and a family forced to take the investigation into their own hands.

This episode traces Ashley’s story: the last messages she sent, the silence that followed, and the tireless determination of her sister Kimberly and her family to bring her home. Eight years later, they’re still searching, still fighting for answers, and still holding onto hope.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Ashley Loring HeavyRunner, please contact:

-The FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office at (801) 579-1400

-The Blackfeet Tribal Police at (406) 338-4000

Tips can also be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov

Even the smallest detail could help bring Ashley home.

Further Reading and Resources:

• Kate Hodal, The Guardian – “A young woman vanishes. The police can’t help. Her desperate family won’t give up” (Feb 25, 2019)
• Sara Kettler, A&E True Crime – “How Ashley Loring HeavyRunner’s Disappearance Illustrates Issues With Investigating Crimes Against Indigenous Women” (Jan 11, 2022)
• ABC News – “No answers 2 years after 20-year-old student vanishes – a single case in an epidemic in Native communities” (Oct 8, 2019)
• NBC Montana – “Vanished in Montana: Ashley HeavyRunner’s family without closure nearly 8 years later”(May 29, 2025)
• Marie Claire (via murkowski.senate.gov) – “The Invisible Victims” (June 10, 2019)
• KRTV News – “Suspect arrested by FBI in Great Falls has been identified” (Aug 14, 2023)krtv.com
• FBI Missing Person Poster – Ashley Loring HeavyRunner (updated) fbi.gov

Thank you so much for listening to Vanished Voices. We truly appreciate you!