Missing Girl, 8, Found Dead After Turquoise Alert Was Issued in Arizona

The search for a missing 8-year-old girl in Arizona ended tragically after authorities said she was found dead.

The Navajo Police Department (NPD) said in a Facebook post on Friday, Jan. 16, that Maleeka Boone—reported missing the day before—has been located deceased.

Police said they have opened a joint investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBA) and the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigation (NDCI) into Boone’s disappearance and death.

Authorities did not release additional details, including where Boone was found or an official cause and manner of death.

Boone was last seen Thursday, Jan. 15, around 6 p.m. local time, walking on Cedar Loop in the Coalmine NHA housing area in Coalmine, a community within the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona.

“She has not been seen or heard from since,” the department said at the time. Police added that family members were concerned because it was “out of character for her to be gone for an extended period of time.”

After Boone disappeared, officials issued a Turquoise Alert—Arizona’s rapid public notification system for missing or endangered people under 65, including tribal members—to help locate her.

In the alert, Boone was described as “a Native American female, 4 feet 5 inches tall, 50 lbs., with brown eyes and long, brown hair with French braids on both sides.” Authorities said she was last seen wearing a “red jacket, blue jeans and cowboy boots.”

Authorities—including the Arizona Department of Public Safety, U.S. Marshals Service missing person unit, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and NDCI—searched for Boone on Friday. Volunteers in the Coalmine community also organized their own search efforts, including briefings and team assignments.

After Boone was found dead, officials announced the Coalmine area would “be on lockdown until further notice,” asking residents to remain in their home area while law enforcement conducted “further investigation.”

“The FBI has set up a command station in Coalmine … and a search continues for any information,” the NPD said. “Details of when Maleeka Boone was last seen from her family and community members [are] still under investigation.”