The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward in connection with the death of Maleeka Boone, an 8-year-old found deceased earlier this month in Arizona.
The FBI Phoenix Field Office and the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigation are leading the investigation while local and state agencies are offering assistance.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, police found Maleeka deceased on January 16, after she vanished from the Coalmine Navajo Housing Authority near Tuba City.
Police issued a Turquoise Alert, also known as “Emily’s Law,” after Maleeka disappeared under “unexplained or suspicious circumstances.”
Navajo police stated that loved ones said they became concerned when Maleeka had been gone for an extended period, which was out of character for her.
According to the FBI, Maleeka left a family member’s home at around 4:15 p.m. to return to her own residence.
“Both residents are in the same neighborhood and in close proximity to each other,” the FBI said.
That same afternoon, police found her deceased in a field near Coalmine, but so far, it’s unclear if foul play is suspected.
“This is our first tragedy that has come from a Turquoise Alert,” Rhonda Dequier, founder of the Missing in America Network, told FOX 10.
Anyone with information about Mollie’s case should contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or online at tips.fbi.gov. Tispters can also contact the Navajo Police Department, Tuba City District, at 928-283-3111 or 928-283-3112.
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[Feature Photo via the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigation]
