The tight-knit indigenous community of Globe, Arizona, came together in a somber display of solidarity to honor the late Emily Pike, a 14-year-old girl whose life ended tragically and prematurely. A procession, led by over 100 bikers from the Redrum indigenous-based motorcycle club and supporting groups, escorted her body from the mortuary to her family home in San Carlos, FOX 10 Phoenix reported. Pike had been reported missing two months prior from her group home in Mesa before she was found deceased near U.S. 60, east of Globe.
While the family prepared to lay Emily to rest, there was a sense of urgency to not only seek justice but to also ensure that no other family has to endure such pain. "Every time we saw her, she just brought this joy and light to our family and to us," Emily's aunt Trinnie Pike remembered, as per FOX 10 Phoenix. Emily's other aunt, Carolyn Pike Bender, added, "And I say it all the time that Emily is the spark that just turned into a flame and she just took off all over the world and she just lit up."
San Carlos Apache tribal leaders have been actively pushing for systemic changes in response to Emily's case. According to a ABC15 interview, they have sent a resolution to state lawmakers for tighter controls on group homes like the one from which Emily disappeared. Moreover, there are calls for an "AMBER Alert-style" system for missing Indigenous people to be instituted. Tribal Chairman Terry Rambler has spearheaded an independent study to review processes, hoping to expand the tribe's youth home facilities.
Justice for Emily has become a rallying cry within the community. "It might not be today, it might not be this month, but we’re not going to stop," Carolyn Pike Bender assured in her commitment to finding the perpetrator, as told to ABC15. Reinforcing this sentiment, a $75,000 reward for information on Emily's case has been announced by Chairman Rambler. All agencies, from local to federal - including the FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs - are working in a task force to assist the Gila County Sherriff's Office in the ongoing investigation of Pike's murder.
