{"id":101216,"date":"2026-01-19T08:37:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T13:37:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=101216"},"modified":"2026-01-19T08:37:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T13:37:47","slug":"8-year-old-girl-who-went-missing-on-navajo-nation-found-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/19\/8-year-old-girl-who-went-missing-on-navajo-nation-found-dead\/","title":{"rendered":"8-year-old girl who went missing on Navajo Nation found dead"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>TUBA CITY, Ariz. (AP) \u2014 An 8-year-old girl who went missing on tribal lands in northern Arizona was found dead Friday, authorities said. Navajo Nation officials say Maleeka Boone was last seen Thursday evening in the Coalmine Canyon area, located 240 miles (386 kilometers) north of Phoenix. A spokesperson for the FBI, which is conducting the investigation with tribal police, declined to provide details of her death. A Navajo Police Department spokesperson said they did not have any further information. In a social media video, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said Maleeka\u2019s death was devastating. \u201cThis tragedy weighs heavy on my heart,\u201d Nygren said. Her disappearance led to the issuance of a Turquoise Alert, an alert system for Native Americans who have gone missing. In Arizona, the legislation creating the&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F01%2F19%2F8-year-old-girl-who-went-missing-on-navajo-nation-found-dead%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TUBA CITY, Ariz. (AP) \u2014 An 8-year-old girl who went missing on tribal lands in northern Arizona was found dead Friday, authorities said. Navajo Nation officials say Maleeka Boone was last seen Thursday evening in the Coalmine Canyon area, located 240 miles (386 kilometers) north of Phoenix. A spokesperson for the FBI, which is conducting the investigation with tribal police, declined to provide details of her death. A Navajo Police Department spokesperson said they did not have any further information. In a social media video, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said Maleeka\u2019s death was devastating. \u201cThis tragedy weighs heavy on my heart,\u201d Nygren said. Her disappearance led to the issuance of a Turquoise Alert, an alert system for Native Americans who have gone missing. In Arizona, the legislation creating the... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F01%2F19%2F8-year-old-girl-who-went-missing-on-navajo-nation-found-dead%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>8-year-old girl who went missing on Navajo Nation found dead - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/19\/8-year-old-girl-who-went-missing-on-navajo-nation-found-dead\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"8-year-old girl who went missing on Navajo Nation found dead - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"TUBA CITY, Ariz. (AP) \u2014 An 8-year-old girl who went missing on tribal lands in northern Arizona was found dead Friday, authorities said. Navajo Nation officials say Maleeka Boone was last seen Thursday evening in the Coalmine Canyon area, located 240 miles (386 kilometers) north of Phoenix. A spokesperson for the FBI, which is conducting the investigation with tribal police, declined to provide details of her death. A Navajo Police Department spokesperson said they did not have any further information. In a social media video, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said Maleeka\u2019s death was devastating. \u201cThis tragedy weighs heavy on my heart,\u201d Nygren said. Her disappearance led to the issuance of a Turquoise Alert, an alert system for Native Americans who have gone missing. In Arizona, the legislation creating the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/19\/8-year-old-girl-who-went-missing-on-navajo-nation-found-dead\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-19T13:37:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"725\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/19\\\/8-year-old-girl-who-went-missing-on-navajo-nation-found-dead\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/19\\\/8-year-old-girl-who-went-missing-on-navajo-nation-found-dead\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\"},\"headline\":\"8-year-old girl who went missing on Navajo Nation found dead\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-19T13:37:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/19\\\/8-year-old-girl-who-went-missing-on-navajo-nation-found-dead\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":209,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"National News\",\"ticker\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/19\\\/8-year-old-girl-who-went-missing-on-navajo-nation-found-dead\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/19\\\/8-year-old-girl-who-went-missing-on-navajo-nation-found-dead\\\/\",\"name\":\"8-year-old girl who went missing on Navajo Nation found dead - 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