Interior watchdog: 39% of the money for BIA's Missing and Murdered Unit went to other costs, like vehicles. Nearly half its posts sat empty.

Friends, Scripture tells of a shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to go after the one that is lost. The Bureau of Indian Affairs built a unit for that kind of work, and its own department's watchdog says the unit has been short-handed since the day it opened. The Missing and Murdered Unit was created in 2021 to address violence against Native Americans and put new resources toward cold cases, the Associated Press reports. An audit released Sept. 9 by the Interior Department's Office of Inspector General found that federal spending on the effort grew from $12 million to $17 million between 2021 and 2024, yet 39% of the unit's money was redirected to other bureau law enforcement costs, including upgrading vehicles. Nearly half its posts were still unfilled last year. As of November 2024 it had 83 open cases and nearly 400 pending referrals, with no time frame for assessing them. In 8 of 13 cases the auditors reviewed, the assigned agent never contacted the bureau staff who help victims' families, and the unit had only two victim specialists nationwide. The bureau says it has acted on most of the recommendations and points to the prior administration: "The deficiencies identified in the OIG audit reflect operations under the previous administration that were inconsistent with the objectives outlined in Operation Lady Justice." The AP also notes the bureau overall has lost a third of its workforce to staffing cuts under President Trump. So nobody gets to point across the aisle. "These are families who have often experienced institutional failure already," said Sarah Deer of the University of Kansas School of Law. Money set aside for finding the lost should go to finding the lost. Friends, fill the posts, spend the dollars on the mission they were meant for, and call every family back.