Richard Hare Jr., a 42-year-old man known to friends and family as "Lil Rich" or "Stitch," was a respected and well-known singer throughout Indian Country. A member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe, he had a beautiful voice and a passion for the traditional songs of his people, a craft he learned as a young man from his father, Dicky, and his grandfather, Pat Crowe. For three decades, Richard was the lead singer for the Rising Hail Singers of Marty, South Dakota. His uncle, Wesley Hare Jr., remembered him as someone who was "liked throughout Indian Country, always joking around." Born on December 2, 1980, Richard grew up at the Rising Hail Colony and lived in Wagner, South Dakota. He was a beloved son to his mother, Carol, and a brother to Thomas, Eric, Hannah, Carrie, Shannon, and Alicia.
In the cold, early hours of New Year's Day 2023, Richard was walking home from the Fort Randall Casino.
At approximately 4:30 a.m., as he walked east along South Dakota Highway 46 in Charles Mix County, he was struck by a vehicle. The crash occurred on the Yankton Sioux Reservation, just east of the casino. The driver of the vehicle, described as a pickup truck pulling a horse trailer, did not stop to help. Instead, they fled the scene, leaving Richard to die in the roadway. His niece, Amber Jones Esquibel, later recounted the family's pain: "He was coming home, walking from the casino. He was hit by a trailer, somebody hit him and left him there to die."
The investigation into the fatal hit-and-run was taken up by the South Dakota Highway Patrol and the state's Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI). Authorities released images of a vehicle of interest to the public, hoping for a lead that would identify the person behind the wheel. The stretch of Highway 46 where Richard was killed has been a point of concern for tribal members, who feel that state, tribal, and federal agencies have not done enough to investigate crimes and improve safety. Richard's uncle, Wesley Hare Jr., a former transit director for the tribe, noted that past requests to the state for a lower speed limit, flashing lights, or a walkway near the casino had been disapproved.
Richard’s death is felt not only by his family but also within the broader context of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) crisis. On May 5, 2023, his name was one of 47 read aloud at a vigil in Sioux Falls to honor and remember victims. His niece spoke at the gathering, joining others who wore red and displayed red handprints over their mouths, symbols of the movement to give voice to the silenced. "We're not going to be silenced anymore," Esquibel said. "We have a voice... this voice is not mine but it's handed down from my ancestors for me to use."
The family continues to grieve while holding out hope for justice. They held funeral services for Richard on January 7, 2023, at the Marty Community Center, followed by a burial in St. Paul's Catholic Cemetery. In a heartfelt public plea, Wesley Hare Jr. addressed the unknown driver directly. “We pray for you, for your heart, and hope everything is good with your family and things are good for you," he said. "And maybe one day, you feel it in your heart to come and tell us, ‘I’m the one that ran over your nephew, your son, your brother.’ That would really help my family close what’s happening here and the feelings we have.”
As of November 2023, the hit-and-run case remains open and unsolved, with no suspects publicly identified. The investigation is active, and authorities continue to seek information from the public. The Yankton Sioux Tribe is offering a $3,000 reward for information that leads to the identification of the driver responsible for Richard Hare Jr.'s death. Anyone with information is urged to contact the tribe at (605) 384-3641.
