Matthew R. Molsen United States Attorney for the District of Nebraska | U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska
The Justice Department announced an increase in FBI resources to address unresolved violent crimes in Indian Country, focusing on cases involving missing and murdered indigenous persons. This initiative will involve 60 FBI personnel working in 90-day rotations over six months, marking the longest national deployment of FBI resources for Indian Country crime to date.
The FBI personnel will support field offices in locations including Albuquerque, Denver, Detroit, Jackson, Miss., Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle, and Salt Lake City. They will collaborate with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal law enforcement agencies. The Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit will assist, utilizing advanced forensic tools to solve cases. The U.S. Attorney's Offices will actively prosecute cases.
Attorney General Pam Bondi stated, "Crime rates in American Indian and Alaska Native communities are unacceptably high. By surging FBI resources and collaborating closely with US Attorneys and Tribal law enforcement to prosecute cases, the Department of Justice will help deliver the accountability that these communities deserve."
FBI Director Kash Patel affirmed, "The FBI will manhunt violent criminals on all lands – and Operation Not Forgotten ensures a surge in resources to locate violent offenders on tribal lands and find those who have gone missing."
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska supports this mission, having recently secured a murder conviction against Michelle Marr for crimes on an Indian reservation in Nebraska. Sentencing for Marr is scheduled for June 5, 2025.
Indian Country faces significant crime and victimization, with the FBI's Indian Country program handling about 4,300 open investigations, including those for deaths, child abuse, and domestic violence or adult sexual abuse.
Operation Not Forgotten, initiated under Executive Order 13898 during President Trump's first term, continues with this deployment, having supported over 500 cases in two years. The operation has led to the recovery of 10 child victims and 52 arrests.
The effort extends the resources recently used to address missing and murdered indigenous people cases, supported by the Department’s MMIP Regional Outreach Program, placing staff in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the nation for such cases.
