Police Mislabelled Missing Native American Teen as 'Runaway'
A 14-year-old Native American girl went missing in New York City 26 years ago and was labelled a runaway, despite her family claiming she would never do such a thing. Leanne Marie Hausberg disappeared on the evening of March 18th, 1999, after leaving her stepfather's home.
Her family reported her disappearance to the police immediately, but were met with dismissive responses from officers who allegedly said 'she'll be back in a day or two.' The New York City Police Department (NYPD) initially refused to file a report until the next day, instead labelling Hausberg as a runaway. This decision stuck for years.
The case highlights a nationwide pattern of erasure and dismissal of urban cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP). Mak Mars, who runs Justice for Native People blog, states that missing Native Americans are disproportionately labelled runaways compared to non-Native counterparts. The authorities' flippant attitude towards missing Indigenous women is 'completely unacceptable.'
According to FBI figures from 2017, Native Americans disappear at twice the per capita rate of white Americans. Despite comprising a smaller population, MMIP cases remain unaddressed due to inadequate data collection and law enforcement protocols.
Hausberg's family joined campaigners in calling for an overhaul of the NYPD's collection policy and standards. Sutton King, co-founder of Urban Indigenous Collective, argues that New York City is home to at least 180,000 Indigenous people yet many are unaware of this fact, making it difficult for them to care about MMIP cases.
The experience of Hausberg's family reflects a broader issue where law enforcement agencies often fail to investigate and address the disappearances of Indigenous women. Chris Ely, a friend of the Artales', accuses the NYPD of 'complete dereliction of duty' in responding to Hausberg's disappearance.
A 14-year-old Native American girl went missing in New York City 26 years ago and was labelled a runaway, despite her family claiming she would never do such a thing. Leanne Marie Hausberg disappeared on the evening of March 18th, 1999, after leaving her stepfather's home.
Her family reported her disappearance to the police immediately, but were met with dismissive responses from officers who allegedly said 'she'll be back in a day or two.' The New York City Police Department (NYPD) initially refused to file a report until the next day, instead labelling Hausberg as a runaway. This decision stuck for years.
The case highlights a nationwide pattern of erasure and dismissal of urban cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP). Mak Mars, who runs Justice for Native People blog, states that missing Native Americans are disproportionately labelled runaways compared to non-Native counterparts. The authorities' flippant attitude towards missing Indigenous women is 'completely unacceptable.'
According to FBI figures from 2017, Native Americans disappear at twice the per capita rate of white Americans. Despite comprising a smaller population, MMIP cases remain unaddressed due to inadequate data collection and law enforcement protocols.
Hausberg's family joined campaigners in calling for an overhaul of the NYPD's collection policy and standards. Sutton King, co-founder of Urban Indigenous Collective, argues that New York City is home to at least 180,000 Indigenous people yet many are unaware of this fact, making it difficult for them to care about MMIP cases.
The experience of Hausberg's family reflects a broader issue where law enforcement agencies often fail to investigate and address the disappearances of Indigenous women. Chris Ely, a friend of the Artales', accuses the NYPD of 'complete dereliction of duty' in responding to Hausberg's disappearance.
. And it's not just this one case, but a pattern of erasure and dismissal that's happening across the country with Indigenous people. I mean, we need better data collection and law enforcement protocols in place, stat! 
How can we call ourselves a fair society when our own cops are failing to do their jobs? 
. It's wild that she was labeled a runaway in 1999, while we're just now talking about these issues in 2025... what have we learned since then? 
. Our school has been trying to raise awareness about missing Indigenous women, but it's a slow process... I hope we can learn from Leanne Marie's story and make some real changes 
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Police are messing up the system for Native American teens, labelling them as runaways when they're really missing 
it's not just about Leanne tho, it's about all the other Indigenous peeps who go missin or get murdered and nobody takes it serious. the stats are wild, Native Americans disappear at TWICE the rate of white ppl 
I don't get why the police would do that. And it's not just Leanne's case, I've seen so many stories about Native American folks going missin' and nobody doin' nothin'. It's like, basic human decency, right?
Native Americans disappear at twice the rate of white people? That's wild. But at the same time, I don't want to say that police just not carin', 'cause they're still humans too, and we all make mistakes. Maybe it's just a matter of education or somethin'? 
I dunno...
. And let's be real, these numbers aren't just happening in one place... it's a systemic issue that needs to be addressed ASAP 
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