Delma Lou Sits Poor, a 13-year-old Oglala Lakota girl, was last seen on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota on February 20, 1974. On that day, Delma, also known as "Babe," and a friend left the Seventh Day Adventist School in the Wakpamni community, also known as the number four community, to walk along a back road toward Manderson. The two were walking in a snowstorm with high winds and temperatures below zero.
At the time of her disappearance, Delma was 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighed 135 pounds, and had black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a white, down-filled jacket with brown stripes on the sleeves, brown bell-bottom pants, and sneakers.
During their walk, Delma's friend began to suffer from frostbite and decided to turn back to seek shelter at the nearby Red Cloud Indian School. Delma, however, continued on her journey towards Manderson and was never seen again. The following morning, after the storm had passed, her family traveled to Pine Ridge to report her missing. Her father filed a police report, and in the days that followed, ground and air searches were conducted in the remote and rugged Calico community area where she might have walked. Despite these efforts, no trace of Delma was found. Her family felt that the official search efforts were insufficient and ended prematurely after about a week.
For years, Delma's family has continued to search for answers, following up on tips and conducting their own searches in the hills of the reservation. Her older sister recalled receiving tips that Delma had been seen in various locations, but none of these leads resulted in finding her. After seven years with no contact, Delma was legally declared deceased, though her remains have never been recovered. Her family suspects that she may have met with foul play. The case is one of many unsolved cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people from the Pine Ridge Reservation. Tragically, Delma's mother, Phyllis White Dress, was murdered in 1976, just two years after her daughter vanished. The Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety and the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit are the investigating agencies and continue to seek information regarding Delma's disappearance.Last Seen: Feb 20, 1974
