Family of missing Lakota man pleads with him to come home: 'we're wondering exactly where did he go, how did he disappear, where did he end up or who is he with?'
For the past five days, Jennifer Black Elk has been searching for her nephew Wanbli Oyate Vigil. The 27-year-old Lakota man has been missing since Dec. 29. He was last seen near West 13th Avenue and Knox Court in Denver.
On Tuesday, Vigil's family and community members held a search party to try to find Vigil.
"It feels surreal," Black Elk told CBS News Colorado. "We've checked hospitals, jails, whatever leads we can think of… friends, relatives. We've been putting the word out."
Surveillance video shared with CBS News Colorado shows the last time Vigil was seen at his apartment building off of 13th Avenue. Black Elk said Vigil only took his ceremonial pipe, but he may have been in distress.
"He was really struggling with some spiritual issues," she said. "We're wondering exactly where did he go, how did he disappear, where did he end up or who is he with?"
Vigil's case is the first to activate the statewide Missing Indigenous Person Alert. The new alert system went live on Friday, and it's similar to what the Colorado Bureau of Investigation puts out for missing seniors or endangered missing people. But because it was a holiday weekend, advocates like Monycka Snowbird said that alert took too long to get out to the public.
"If this was an Amber Alert, it wouldn't have mattered if it was a holiday, so it shouldn't matter if it's a Lakota man on a holiday or a white child on a holiday, that response should have been immediate," Snowbird said.
Snowbird added that because the system is so new there's been a lot of miscommunication between the CBI, the newly created Office of Liaison for Missing or Murdered Indigenous Relatives, and the Denver Police Department, which is the lead agency on Vigil's case, cause he went missing in the Denver jurisdiction.
Snowbird said CBI said DPD needed to issue the alert. DPD said they tried to make the alert, but CBI didn't issue it early enough.
"It seems like there's a blame game going on and that should not be the case," said Snowbird. "So there's accountability issues that need to be addressed. Either way, the priority is to get Wanbli home."
As the clock ticks, Black Elk is just hoping for a safe return of her nephew.
"Don't be afraid to come home," she said. "We know that's there's a lot of things that you don't understand, and that we're here to help you and to not to be afraid thinking you're going to jeopardize us as well, and he'll understand what I'm saying."
CBS News Colorado contacted CBI, DPD, and the Office of Liaison for Missing or Murdered Indigenous Relatives, and spokespeople for those offices said they are working together to bring Vigil home.
DPD spokesman Jay Casillas added: "The next steps for DPD are to gather enough information that can help locate Mr. Vigil and make sure he is safe. The public can use the poster CBI sent out that has identifying information as well as a picture of him. Anyone that sees him or has any information that can help DPD locate him are encouraged to call us at 720-913-2000."