Humboldt County is putting up a $20,000 reward in a renewed push to find out what happened to Andrea “Chick” White, a Native American woman who vanished more than three decades ago. White disappeared on July 31, 1991, after she was last seen along Highway 299 near the Blue Lake offramp, about 15 miles northeast of Eureka. At the time, she was described as about 5 feet tall, 115 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Investigators say the cold case is still active and they are hoping the cash reward finally shakes loose new leads.
According to a news release from the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office, the reward is a combined total of $20,000, with $15,000 contributed by the Hoopa Valley Tribe and $5,000 from the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Missing and Murdered Unit. The sheriff's office release included White's photo and physical details, and urged anyone with information to call Cold Case Investigator Mike Fridley at 707-441-3024. Officials have suggested that foul play may have been involved and say the money is meant to refocus public attention on the long-stalled investigation.
CBS News reported that White was last seen hitchhiking eastbound and that investigators began looking into her disappearance in 1991. The outlet noted that the spot where she was last seen sits near the Blue Lake off-ramp on Highway 299, roughly 15 miles northeast of Eureka. Local reporting has also underscored how tribal partners stepped up with funding in order to help keep the case in the public eye.
Case files compiled by organizations such as The Charley Project state that Andrea Jerri “Chick” White was 22 years old and the mother of four children when she disappeared. According to those profiles, she traveled from Hoopa to Eureka for a court date and was later seen trying to hitch a ride east of Blue Lake. Public records indicate she may have gotten into a white-over-green Chevrolet Impala. Those fragments of information, along with occasional tips, have kept the case open even as time has stretched on.
Broader context
Advocates say White's disappearance is one painful example in a much larger crisis involving missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. That crisis has prompted tribal governments and federal agencies to push for stronger investigations, more resources, and better coordination. The National Indigenous Women's Resource Center hosts an extensive collection of MMIWG materials for families, communities, and law enforcement, and a recent congressional resolution cited more than 5,600 Indigenous women and girls reported missing in 2024. Tribal leaders and advocates say contributions like the Hoopa Valley Tribe's $15,000 reward share are one way to keep longstanding cases like White's from fading from view.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office tip line and ask for Cold Case Investigator Mike Fridley at 707-441-3024. Investigators say tips may qualify for the reward and stress that even a small detail, an old photograph, or a remembered name could matter, despite the decades that have passed. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through the sheriff's online reporting system.
