A 26-year-old Lakota Sioux woman has been missing from Richland since early June, and it took more than two months for a statewide alert to go out asking the public for help finding her. Tashina Young Bear was last seen in the Richland area on June 3, 2026, traveling on foot in an unknown direction, according to the Washington State Patrol. She is described as 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing 145 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
The Washington State Patrol activated a Missing Indigenous Person Alert on behalf of the Benton County Sheriff's Office on Thursday, more than two months after Young Bear was first reported missing, according to a Washington State Patrol Facebook post. The case carries the number 26-016402. Anyone who spots Young Bear is asked to call 911.
The gap between her disappearance and the public alert has drawn scrutiny. As reported by NBC Right Now, although Young Bear was reported missing in Richland on June 3, the Washington State Patrol did not receive and activate the alert request from the Benton County Sheriff's Office until Thursday — a 72-day delay. Washington State Patrol clearinghouse records show her disappearance was entered into the National Crime Information Center database on the day she vanished, under agency case number 2616402 and listed as case type “OTHER,” ensuring law enforcement nationwide could view the case even before the public alert went out.
Family Says She Left Without Her Phone
Additional details shared by the Washington Missing Persons Initiative describe Young Bear as having been last seen wearing a white sweater and black sweatpants while riding an orange and black electric scooter. Family members told the group she left her cell phone behind on its charger, a detail they emphasized as uncharacteristic of her. The family has also received unconfirmed community reports suggesting she may have been spotted in Moses Lake, Yakima, or Othello since vanishing from Richland — cities that sit along major transit corridors near Benton County, though none of those sightings have been confirmed.
Anyone with information can contact the Benton County Sheriff's Office at (509) 735-6555.
How Washington's Alert System Is Supposed to Work
Washington became the first state in the nation to create a dedicated alert system for missing Native people when Governor Jay Inslee signed House Bill 1725 into law in March 2022, with the system launching that July, according to KING 5. Under the law, missing Indigenous individuals are automatically classified as “endangered,” removing earlier requirements that law enforcement first prove foul play before issuing a public advisory, per the Washington State Attorney General's Office.
The system has posted strong results. Between its 2022 launch and April 21, 2026, the state patrol issued 220 Missing Indigenous Person Alerts, leading to 203 people recovered, 5 found deceased, and 12 cases still unresolved, according to the Washington State Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force. Alert activations have climbed steadily each year, from 34 in 2022 to 51 in 2023, 52 in 2024, and 64 in 2025, the same task force reports.
That growth reflects a documented gap in risk. National Missing and Unidentified Persons System data analyzed by state task forces shows Indigenous Washingtonians face a missing person rate of 34.32 per 100,000 residents, compared with 8.04 per 100,000 for the state's general population, according to Real Change. In 2023, the state also created a specialized MMIWP Cold Case Unit inside the Attorney General's Office to help local agencies investigate long-unsolved cases, supplementing the real-time alert system for cases that stretch on.
Young Bear's case is one of several Missing Indigenous Person Alerts issued across Washington this month. Hoodline has also reported an 18-day alert gap involving a Vancouver teen, part of a pattern of delayed activations that remains a point of discussion in missing and murdered Indigenous people investigations statewide.
