‘I Am Her Voice,’ Sister Says Of Missing Indigenous Woman Pepita Redhair

The Navajo Nation resident vanished after a trip to see her boyfriend in March 2020.

November 10, 2021
Left - selfie of Navajo woman Pepita Redhair who went missing in March 2020 in Albuquerque, New Mexico wearing a black t shirt in front of a white background, Right - Navajo woman Pepita Redhair ID photo in front of a gray background

Navajo woman Pepita Redhair who went missing in March 2020 in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Photo by: Coalition To Stop Violence Against Native Women / Albuquerque Police Department

Coalition To Stop Violence Against Native Women / Albuquerque Police Department

Navajo woman Pepita Redhair who went missing in March 2020 in Albuquerque, New Mexico

By: Aaron Rasmussen

A Navajo woman disappeared in New Mexico in spring 2020, and her family wants answers.

“I know someone out there knows what happened. I will not stop searching for her,” Anita King said of her daughter, Pepita Redhair.

In March 2020, Pepita, then 27, traveled from King’s home in Crownpoint, Navajo Nation, to Albuquerque, where she was visiting her boyfriend, Nicholas Kaye, The Lilly reported.

Pepita always responded to her mother’s messages, so King worried when her daughter didn’t text her back during the trip.

“My sister went missing March 27, 2020,” Shelda Livingston, recently said, alleging her sibling “is a domestic violence victim” and “was beaten” days prior to disappearing.

Now, Livingston said, “I am her voice.”

On April 19, 2020, Kaye also reported his girlfriend missing. A police report obtained by The Lily states Kaye told officers that he and Pepita were out for a drink on March 26 and got into an argument. She then, he alleged, left and sent a message the following day, writing she was with a man he speculated could have been someone they met the prior evening.

In a statement, Albuquerque police said investigators were aware “of a domestic history with the boyfriend and are checking into it” and that although the “case had gone cold,” they are “currently working some new leads.”

Livingston said she and her sister’s loved ones “just want answers and we want to bring her home.”

Until then, King said she struggled with not having around her “bright” daughter, who hoped to continue her education and become a teacher or engineer someday. “I try to keep myself strong by praying, by having faith,” she noted, adding, however, that since Pepita went missing “my life has changed.”

Next Up

Family Seeks Answers In Case Of Missing Indigenous Washington Woman

“It’s really hard not knowing,” says the sister of Mary Johnson, who vanished at the end of 2020.

Indiana Woman, 20, Found Safe One Month After She Flew To California And Vanished

Lateche Norris said she saw a missing person flyer featuring her photo and contacted her worried mother.

Have You Seen Missing Teenagers Asia Wilbon Or Mackenzie Marken?

Both girls vanished during the night from their families’ homes.

Missing Indiana Teen Aaliyah Ramirez Recovered Safely in Florida

The Silver Alert to find missing teen Aaliyah Ramirez is thankfully no longer active.

Police Hunt Mom & Boyfriend In The Abduction Of Kamila Cabrera, Age 4

Jimena Perez and Jose Astorga-Valenzuela allegedly snatched the child from her dad in 2018.

UPDATE: Let's Help Find Missing Dancer Aaliyah Ramirez From Indiana

In April 2021, investigators said she was supposed to catch her bus to school, but she never made it. Have any information? Text our hotline directly: 833-378-7783 (3-PURSUE)

Indigenous Student Ashley Loring HeavyRunner Still Missing

Her sister vows “to keep standing for our missing so that one day that we will be seen as the same — as important.”

Inside The Mysterious Disappearance of Christina Whittaker

In 2009, the 21-year-old vanished without a trace from Hannibal, Missouri. Filmmaker Christina Fontana pledges to find the truth about her disappearance.

Loved Ones Still Searching For Andrea Cotten Nearly Two Decades After Her Disappearance

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children recently produced a new image of what Andrea may look like today.

Arizona Police ID ‘Little Miss Nobody’ Found Dead In Desert In 1960

More than six decades after the body of a child was found in the Arizona desert, police have confirmed her identity through forensic genealogy.