Fort Worth teenager is one of 5,000+ Native American women who go missing in U.S. each year
NORTH TEXAS – An average of more than 5,000 Native American women go missing in the United States each year, according to the National Crime Information Center.
A Fort Worth family knows this all too well as they continue searching for their teenage daughter who disappeared last year. The teen's cell phone and social media have gone silent. Her mother, Samantha Perez, pleads with the public for leads on where her daughter may be.
"She's your average teenager. She spends a lot of time in her room and on her phone," Perez said.
What happened on Dec. 28, 2024, was anything but normal.
"I woke up the next morning, and she was gone. It's been a nightmare ever since that day," Perez said.
Perez's 17-year-old daughter, Sara Martinez, a high school junior, vanished.
"She's not even reaching out to her friends on where she is. 'Hey, I'm okay.' She hasn't reached out to anybody," Perez said.
Home security video from outside the family's Fort Worth home the night of Martinez's disappearance raised alarm bells for the family.
"There is a video of a man that is across the street from our home on the phone at 3:21 in the morning, and her location goes off at 3:27," Perez said.
Perez immediately filed a missing person's report with the Fort Worth Police Department. CBS News Texas reached out to Fort Worth Police about her daughter's case. In an email, a spokesperson declined an on-camera interview and said investigators from the missing persons unit are considering her an adult runaway.
"I don't think she's an adult. She just turned 17, and she's enrolled in school," Perez said.
Perez hired a private investigator who believes Martinez may have been trafficked.
"We think she may have been coerced by somebody online who was maybe telling her that she could possibly have a better life somewhere else," Perez said.
"When somebody's missing, time is of the essence. It's precious," MMIW Texas Rematriate Chair Jodi Voice Yellowfish said.
The family got in touch with MMIW Texas Rematriate. The organization helps investigate and bring attention to MMIW cases. MMIW stands for "missing and murdered Indigenous women" and is symbolized by a red handprint.
"Nobody prepares for the situation of their relative to go missing, especially a child, like in this situation, but we have created a flier that has our logo on it, and we always add their tribe," Yellowfish said.
Yellowfish said Native American women are often prime targets for human trafficking.
"Because of our look, people mistake us for different races all of the time, and that's a plus for a trafficker," Yellowfish said.
Yellowfish believes missing Indigenous women sometimes don't receive the same attention from the police and the media as white women.
A Sacramento State University study found 57% of missing women reports in the media are of white women.
The Sovereign Bodies Institute gathers data on Indigenous people. It reports 62% of MMIW cases were never included in missing person databases.
"I've been personally asked, 'Do they drink, or are they partying?' I'm just like, why is that the first thing that comes to mind?" Yellowfish said.
"I am in a situation that my Native American daughter, who's also mixed with Hispanic, I do kind of feel like she falls in a category of, well, this is normal to them," Perez said. "Is she just going to fall into one of those cracks? It's very scary to think about that."
The family continues to remain optimistic Martinez will be found safe.
"It's mainly praying and not letting those negative things take over," Perez said.
Perez has a message for her daughter and anyone else who may be with her.
"Just call somebody. Call home. We just need to know that she's okay. We need to hear her voice and to let her know that we all love her, and we miss her," Perez said.
A $2,000 reward is being offered for information leading to Martinez's whereabouts. Anyone with information should contact Fort Worth Police at 817-392-4222 or the private investigator, Blackfish Intelligence, at 1-800-403-8024.
