On the evening of May 29, 1998, 21-year-old Pernell Lloyd Tewangoitewa was with his sister and friends at Gator's Bar & Grill in Farmington, New Mexico, where he also worked as a bouncer. Of Navajo and Hopi descent, Pernell was a cosmetology student who lived with his sister in the nearby town of Bloomfield. At the end of the night, around 1:30 a.m., Pernell left the bar driving his sister's 1988 Pontiac Subaru station wagon.
His sister, who was riding with friends, believed he was following them back to the home they shared, but he never made it. Witnesses reported seeing him leaving the parking lot and heading east on Main Street, alone. That was the last time Pernell was ever seen or heard from again.
For three weeks, there was no sign of Pernell. Then, on June 18, 1998, the station wagon he had been driving was discovered by an oil field worker in a dry river wash in Choke Cherry Canyon, about five miles northwest of Farmington. The vehicle had been completely burned, and the cause of the fire was later determined to be arson. A search of the scene yielded no trace of Pernell. His family felt they were looking at a crime scene that needed to be investigated, but have expressed that their concerns were initially not taken seriously by law enforcement. The Farmington Police Department filed a missing person report on June 20, but the car was reportedly junked at a salvage yard in 2000 without being fully processed for forensic evidence.
Authorities now believe Pernell was the victim of a homicide, though no arrests have ever been made in connection with his disappearance. The case has been marked by his family's persistent search for answers and questions regarding the initial handling of the investigation. Pernell was a young man with a future ahead of him, studying cosmetology and known for being funny and kind. His disappearance is an unsolved case that left a family with an aching void of questions. Investigators have considered a possible link to an alleged serial killer in the area, but the theory has not led to a resolution. Overall, the case of Pernell Tewangoitewa is a deeply troubling story of a young man who vanished, leaving behind a burned-out car and a family still seeking justice and closure decades later.Last Seen: May 29, 1998
