A young indigenous woman goes missing and her remains are found nearly a year later
Katelyn Latisha Kelley, a 22-year-old Native American woman, disappeared during the night of June 16, 2020, after being seen on the Menominee Indian Reservation near County Highway VV and Silver Canoe Road. At about 10:30 p.m., she was observed in that area, reportedly walking along County VV. Investigators later determined that she apparently made it from the reservation to her apartment in Shawano, roughly eight miles away, where she was seen sometime between approximately 11:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. She then vanished without contacting her family, and her mother reported her missing on June 18. Her family told reporters that suddenly losing contact with her was highly unusual, particularly because she had a young son and remained closely connected with her relatives.
One of the most important unanswered questions from the first hours of the investigation concerned how Kelley traveled from the reservation to Shawano. Menominee Tribal Police publicly said they believed somebody may have picked her up near County Highway VV and Silver Canoe Road and asked that person to come forward. Reports also described a black SUV outside or near her Shawano apartment during the early morning hours of June 17. The vehicle became a point of public interest because it appeared around the time Kelley was last known to be at her apartment, but authorities have never publicly identified its driver or established that the SUV was connected to her disappearance. No person associated with the vehicle was publicly declared a suspect.
The search quickly expanded beyond the immediate area where Kelley was last seen. Menominee Tribal Police worked with Shawano police, the FBI and other agencies, following tips and searching roadways, wooded areas and bodies of water. Tribal leaders offered a $5,000 reward in 2020 in an effort to generate information that could lead investigators to her or identify anyone responsible for her disappearance. Months passed with no public breakthrough. Her relatives continued distributing flyers and appealing for information while investigators kept the case open.
On March 17, 2021, human remains were discovered somewhere on the Menominee Indian Reservation. Authorities initially withheld the exact location and asked the public to stay away from the recovery scene. An autopsy was subsequently conducted, and on March 22 tribal police announced that the remains had been positively identified as Kelley. March 17 is therefore the confirmed date her remains were recovered; publicly available law-enforcement information has not established that it was the actual date she died. Officials have also withheld significant details about the condition of the remains, the precise recovery location and the evidence found with them. A specific cause and manner of death have not been publicly disclosed in the official case information.
After the identification, Kelley’s family said that finding her ended the uncertainty over where she was, but they still wanted justice and an explanation for what happened. The investigation continued as a joint effort involving Menominee Tribal Police and the FBI. By 2023, Menominee Nation materials advertised a $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Kelley’s death, demonstrating that investigators were still seeking information capable of identifying whoever may have been responsible. Despite that appeal, authorities have not publicly named a suspect, announced an arrest, or disclosed charges connected to her death. There has consequently been no criminal trial or conviction in the case.
Kelley’s disappearance and death remain officially unsolved. The Wisconsin Clearinghouse for Missing & Exploited Children & Adults continues to list the case as an ongoing investigation, stating that she disappeared from the Menominee Indian Reservation in June 2020 and that her body was recovered in March 2021. Investigators continue to seek information about the people Kelley encountered during her final known hours, how she left her Shawano apartment, where she went afterward, and the circumstances that ultimately led to her remains being left on the reservation. The unidentified person believed to have given her a ride and the unexplained vehicle reported near her apartment remain pieces of the timeline rather than publicly identified suspects, leaving the central question of who was responsible for her death unanswered.
