Slain girl’s dad sues Navajo Nation for lack of alert system
SHIPROCK, N.M. — The father of an 11-year-old Navajo girl who was abducted and killed has sued the tribe for failing to have an emergency notification system that he claims would have saved his daughter’s life.
The civil complaint filed last month by Ashlynne Mike’s father, Gary Mike, says the Navajo Nation had numerous opportunities to develop an alert system before Ashlynne was kidnapped near her bus stop in May and found dead a day later. An Amber Alert didn’t go out until the morning after her disappearance, leading to outcry that the public did not get notice of a child in danger during the crucial hours of the search.
The nation’s largest Indian reservation has struggled to launch an emergency notification system since it was proposed years ago. The tribe announced last week that a new system should be working within a couple of weeks and that training for law enforcement was expected to start this month.
Attorney David Jordan, who is representing Gary Mike and his family, said his clients want the Navajo Nation to acknowledge its wrongdoing to vindicate Ashlynne’s life. The suit does not include a request for compensation but demands a jury trial.