I wondered that too and if she is in hiding because of that.
Or if she was involved in the crimes she went into hiding when they were arrested.
And I’m not making any judgements on her. We’ve seen cases where women were unwillingly involved in crimes by a bf or acquaintance.
Or maybe she know too much and they get rid of her. She was afraid to tell her family be cause that woudl put them in danger so she accepted her fate. That was the reason she cried during last time goodbye.
Family is notified under mist circumstances. And LE would not allow the witness to be listed as a missing person because LE is trying to safely hide them. They can't have their face on television or social media.
Witness Protection programs also do not fake deaths, because dead people can't testify.
I had the same moment back when I learned that. Like, yeah, the whole point is keeping them alive. Either hiding them until the trial or integrating them into another community.
Generally you would let family know, usually claim to be moving, or tell them the truth if its not a danger to them and they are trustworthy assume the new identity then disappear
I spent two years in witness protection over a decade ago 🤷♂️
Whoa! Can you share any details whatsoever (ik this is a big ask)?
How did they decide that you were safe after 2 years? I'm sure I'm not the only one who's always assumed WP was for life.. would love to hear about your experience if possible. Glad it seems you're doing well these days!
That's not how witness protection works. We know who is in witsec we just don't know where they are or their new identity. No missing person is in witness protection, they don't just claim someone in witsec is missing.
No. If someone is in witness protection, LE does not put them into the missing persons system. Not only would this be a huge waste of resources, but it would be completely counterproductive to publicize the case and have the public be on the lookout for the person.
Poor woman, it's a shame that the police haven't taken Ranelle's disappearance seriously. Her family has been through a lot these past 3 years, I feel bad for them, especially her mom and her kids.. Thank you OP for sharing Ranelle's case here.
I'm really confused by this case.
did anyone "see her last"? alternatively, what was the last confirmed sighting?
did she have a car? a cell phone? where are her personal effects (outside of the found clothing)? did she have any social media accounts, and, if so, what were the last things posted and/or when was the time of last login?
what about her then-current partner? where was he during the time she went missing? did she owe anyone money? was she affiliated with any sort of "shady" figures?
there's basically no information about this disappearance whatsoever. the articles linked mention the police collecting evidence but I didn't read what that evidence was.
also, why did the grandmother have custody of the children? did Ranelle lose custody at some point and, if so, why? where was the kids' father? could he be a suspect?
From the info I could find her last name is Bennett.
I cannot find any info regarding custody other than the grandmother filed for “guardianship of a minor” in 2022, almost a full year after the mother went missing. This is also only for one child, and the father is listed on it. You can check out nmcourts.gov to see that case, just search the grandmothers name. From what I could find Ranelle had some DWI cases but no other custody cases listed.
Unfortunately New Mexico and surrounding states have a lot of missing indigenous women and men, and many of those cases go unsolved.
I'm wondering a lot of these things, including what her living situation was? Did she live in a house, an apartment? Did she live with anyone else? I'm assuming they searched the place she lived--what was found? Or not found? What was missing--purse, wallet? Was the place a mess?
I also wonder why the grandmother had custody. Was Ranelle maybe not mentally fit to take care of her kids at some point? Maybe dealing with depression? Foul play could be likely but I also think suicide could be a possibility.
For some reason, Ranelle’s mother had legal guardianship over her 12-year-old grandson and 10-year-old granddaughter. Why, though? The background is incredibly vague.
The information that Ranelle lived closed by and helped to take care of her children seems to come from Ranelle’s mother after Ranelle went missing. I don’t buy this for a second. It seems like the kind of statement a desperate mother will give to the press so the public won't think badly about her missing daughter (“yeah, I had legal guardianship but she saw her children all the time, she lived nearby, she helped to take care of them”).
The family finding a sweater and a pair of shoes somewhere - and collecting those items and handing them to the police - seems absurd without the additional context. Her mother didn't see her for days until she concluded Ranelle disappeared. No one knows what she was wearing or what pieces of clothes she owned. I can't blame the police on this one based on the write-up alone.
She waited 6 days before last seeing her to file a missing persons report? So a week. I’m sorry, but I find it odd that following the 6 day period, they then directed blame to the law enforcement.
Yea a three day period for law enforcement to get
The report in the system is unacceptable by all reasons. But 3 days, is half of 6.
I also find it very odd that they just so happen to stumble upon her sweater and shoes, in a random northern area of shiprock.
Edit: so this KJ character sees her a couple days after her family last saw her. This leads me to believe the family and KJ had communicated. So if the mother had custody, and there was possible communication between the family and KJ, I wonder the details behind the custody subject. The mother gets custody, the daughter lives close, but not with the mother. Which I know moms, and the last thing most would want is to be separated
From their children. Red flags, what are the circumstances behind the daughter losing custody, and the mother gaining it.
If Tiny was extremely involved with her
Children, and was always around taking care
Of them. Why wouldn’t she be living with her
Parents? (Again, almost all mothers I know, couldn’t fathom being away from their children. Even a day is too much for many mothers)
What’s are the circumstances behind the custody? Living arrangement? The relationship between her family and vice versa? What is the families relationship with this kg guy? Who’s the father of the children and where is he located?
So many questions. When someone goes missing investigators ALWAYS pursue two pivotal areas. More often than not one or both of these two will lead you to there whereabouts.
1. The closest people do the missing person.
2. The last person to see the said missing person
i know i'm a bit late but i'd like to add a thought i had here, if i lived in a high indigenous pop area and an indigenous woman i knew went missing under mysterious circumstances... all i'm saying is just based on the statistics alone, let alone what i might have personally experienced, i would feel foolish having even a sliver of hope that they would take it seriously or find her. how many cases of missing indigenous women actually get solved by LE? 1%? something tells me that's a generous estimate, unfortunately, because even at a national level cops don't solve that many violent crimes. also, how often do LE make the situation worse or botch the investigation so badly it destroys any hope of it being solved? i'm not saying don't report missing people if you're indigenous, i'm saying if *I* was indigenous i would most certainly have second thoughts about reporting it if not outright fear at just the idea of LE getting involved. i don't know that i would be as eager to report this disappearance as i might be if, for example, i was a white woman in suburbia from a "good" family with a missing white, married daughter. just my two cents i guess
I mean no disrespect to whomever may have provided Ranelle’s appearance info, but she does not look to be 125 lbs at all to me. More like 105-110 lbs. Of course, having never met her “in real life”, I’m just going by several photos, but thought I’d make mention of it, anyhow.
This case is so tragic and sad for a variety of reasons. My heart breaks for her children, her mom and her other loved ones. I wish them peace in all ways possible. As for Ranelle herself, if still among the living, I wish the same for her - peace. If she’s no longer here, I hope she is resting (whatever this entails) peacefully, despite possibly knowing that her family is still searching for her, for answers that may or may not one day surface or come to fruition. I am so sorry for everyone involved.
I think it’s probably most likely here that she was working as informant or seriously considering it and that this little gang is being underestimated there is far more to this than the public knowledge
She had very strong facial features and seemed to live a very distant life from her kids and mom. It’s possible she might have been gay and was afraid of her family not accepting her. The boyfriend was probably a cover story; he also had a criminal background, so she probably chose him and used that as cover to keep him at arms length and not have a very sexual relationship. If she were on a dating app like Tinder or something looking for other woman, it’s possible he found out and killed her out of rage. Or, since her mom said she had tears in her eyes the last they hugged, might have cut ties to go live that lifestyle in a more accepting place like Los Angeles. I’d probably start putting up missing persons flyers in the gay neighborhoods of the nearest urban cities
>She had very strong facial features
What does this have to do with anything? Are you claiming that strong facial features are associated with being gay? Because that's a really odd assumption.
I wonder if Ranelle informed on KJ.
I wondered that too and if she is in hiding because of that. Or if she was involved in the crimes she went into hiding when they were arrested. And I’m not making any judgements on her. We’ve seen cases where women were unwillingly involved in crimes by a bf or acquaintance.
Or maybe she know too much and they get rid of her. She was afraid to tell her family be cause that woudl put them in danger so she accepted her fate. That was the reason she cried during last time goodbye.
Witness protection?
When a person goes into witness protection (which I think is rare & probably did not happen here) do they just disappear? Or is the family notified?
Family is notified under mist circumstances. And LE would not allow the witness to be listed as a missing person because LE is trying to safely hide them. They can't have their face on television or social media. Witness Protection programs also do not fake deaths, because dead people can't testify.
Thank you, one of the most bewildering misconceptions.
I blame TV. Cop and courthouse dramas sometimes show some nutty stuff like that.
Of course -- having people look for someone who's in witness protection would defeat its purpose. Facepalm moment for me. 😬
I had the same moment back when I learned that. Like, yeah, the whole point is keeping them alive. Either hiding them until the trial or integrating them into another community.
Thank you
Generally you would let family know, usually claim to be moving, or tell them the truth if its not a danger to them and they are trustworthy assume the new identity then disappear I spent two years in witness protection over a decade ago 🤷♂️
Whoa! Can you share any details whatsoever (ik this is a big ask)? How did they decide that you were safe after 2 years? I'm sure I'm not the only one who's always assumed WP was for life.. would love to hear about your experience if possible. Glad it seems you're doing well these days!
That's not how witness protection works. We know who is in witsec we just don't know where they are or their new identity. No missing person is in witness protection, they don't just claim someone in witsec is missing.
I was actually thinking that she'd informed on him and he'd killed her in retaliation. But, yeah, witness protection is a possibility, too.
Witness protection is not a possibility, that's not how it works. No missing person is in witsec.
Or she ran away to avoid having to testify or from fear he or his accomplices would try to silence her or a combination?
I wonder if she would keep that from her mother. Maybe so, to keep *her* safe.
No. If someone is in witness protection, LE does not put them into the missing persons system. Not only would this be a huge waste of resources, but it would be completely counterproductive to publicize the case and have the public be on the lookout for the person.
Yes, others pointed out what should have been apparent to me. 🫣
Poor woman, it's a shame that the police haven't taken Ranelle's disappearance seriously. Her family has been through a lot these past 3 years, I feel bad for them, especially her mom and her kids.. Thank you OP for sharing Ranelle's case here.
Another sad case of a missing indigenous woman.
I'm really confused by this case. did anyone "see her last"? alternatively, what was the last confirmed sighting? did she have a car? a cell phone? where are her personal effects (outside of the found clothing)? did she have any social media accounts, and, if so, what were the last things posted and/or when was the time of last login? what about her then-current partner? where was he during the time she went missing? did she owe anyone money? was she affiliated with any sort of "shady" figures? there's basically no information about this disappearance whatsoever. the articles linked mention the police collecting evidence but I didn't read what that evidence was. also, why did the grandmother have custody of the children? did Ranelle lose custody at some point and, if so, why? where was the kids' father? could he be a suspect?
From the info I could find her last name is Bennett. I cannot find any info regarding custody other than the grandmother filed for “guardianship of a minor” in 2022, almost a full year after the mother went missing. This is also only for one child, and the father is listed on it. You can check out nmcourts.gov to see that case, just search the grandmothers name. From what I could find Ranelle had some DWI cases but no other custody cases listed. Unfortunately New Mexico and surrounding states have a lot of missing indigenous women and men, and many of those cases go unsolved.
I'm wondering a lot of these things, including what her living situation was? Did she live in a house, an apartment? Did she live with anyone else? I'm assuming they searched the place she lived--what was found? Or not found? What was missing--purse, wallet? Was the place a mess? I also wonder why the grandmother had custody. Was Ranelle maybe not mentally fit to take care of her kids at some point? Maybe dealing with depression? Foul play could be likely but I also think suicide could be a possibility.
Is Rose Yazzie related to Alvin Yazzie on the FBI Seeking Info page?
I can't answer your question, but Yazzie is a fairly common surname for people of Navajo origin.
For some reason, Ranelle’s mother had legal guardianship over her 12-year-old grandson and 10-year-old granddaughter. Why, though? The background is incredibly vague. The information that Ranelle lived closed by and helped to take care of her children seems to come from Ranelle’s mother after Ranelle went missing. I don’t buy this for a second. It seems like the kind of statement a desperate mother will give to the press so the public won't think badly about her missing daughter (“yeah, I had legal guardianship but she saw her children all the time, she lived nearby, she helped to take care of them”). The family finding a sweater and a pair of shoes somewhere - and collecting those items and handing them to the police - seems absurd without the additional context. Her mother didn't see her for days until she concluded Ranelle disappeared. No one knows what she was wearing or what pieces of clothes she owned. I can't blame the police on this one based on the write-up alone.
She waited 6 days before last seeing her to file a missing persons report? So a week. I’m sorry, but I find it odd that following the 6 day period, they then directed blame to the law enforcement. Yea a three day period for law enforcement to get The report in the system is unacceptable by all reasons. But 3 days, is half of 6. I also find it very odd that they just so happen to stumble upon her sweater and shoes, in a random northern area of shiprock. Edit: so this KJ character sees her a couple days after her family last saw her. This leads me to believe the family and KJ had communicated. So if the mother had custody, and there was possible communication between the family and KJ, I wonder the details behind the custody subject. The mother gets custody, the daughter lives close, but not with the mother. Which I know moms, and the last thing most would want is to be separated From their children. Red flags, what are the circumstances behind the daughter losing custody, and the mother gaining it. If Tiny was extremely involved with her Children, and was always around taking care Of them. Why wouldn’t she be living with her Parents? (Again, almost all mothers I know, couldn’t fathom being away from their children. Even a day is too much for many mothers) What’s are the circumstances behind the custody? Living arrangement? The relationship between her family and vice versa? What is the families relationship with this kg guy? Who’s the father of the children and where is he located? So many questions. When someone goes missing investigators ALWAYS pursue two pivotal areas. More often than not one or both of these two will lead you to there whereabouts. 1. The closest people do the missing person. 2. The last person to see the said missing person
i know i'm a bit late but i'd like to add a thought i had here, if i lived in a high indigenous pop area and an indigenous woman i knew went missing under mysterious circumstances... all i'm saying is just based on the statistics alone, let alone what i might have personally experienced, i would feel foolish having even a sliver of hope that they would take it seriously or find her. how many cases of missing indigenous women actually get solved by LE? 1%? something tells me that's a generous estimate, unfortunately, because even at a national level cops don't solve that many violent crimes. also, how often do LE make the situation worse or botch the investigation so badly it destroys any hope of it being solved? i'm not saying don't report missing people if you're indigenous, i'm saying if *I* was indigenous i would most certainly have second thoughts about reporting it if not outright fear at just the idea of LE getting involved. i don't know that i would be as eager to report this disappearance as i might be if, for example, i was a white woman in suburbia from a "good" family with a missing white, married daughter. just my two cents i guess
I mean no disrespect to whomever may have provided Ranelle’s appearance info, but she does not look to be 125 lbs at all to me. More like 105-110 lbs. Of course, having never met her “in real life”, I’m just going by several photos, but thought I’d make mention of it, anyhow. This case is so tragic and sad for a variety of reasons. My heart breaks for her children, her mom and her other loved ones. I wish them peace in all ways possible. As for Ranelle herself, if still among the living, I wish the same for her - peace. If she’s no longer here, I hope she is resting (whatever this entails) peacefully, despite possibly knowing that her family is still searching for her, for answers that may or may not one day surface or come to fruition. I am so sorry for everyone involved.
I think it’s probably most likely here that she was working as informant or seriously considering it and that this little gang is being underestimated there is far more to this than the public knowledge
She had very strong facial features and seemed to live a very distant life from her kids and mom. It’s possible she might have been gay and was afraid of her family not accepting her. The boyfriend was probably a cover story; he also had a criminal background, so she probably chose him and used that as cover to keep him at arms length and not have a very sexual relationship. If she were on a dating app like Tinder or something looking for other woman, it’s possible he found out and killed her out of rage. Or, since her mom said she had tears in her eyes the last they hugged, might have cut ties to go live that lifestyle in a more accepting place like Los Angeles. I’d probably start putting up missing persons flyers in the gay neighborhoods of the nearest urban cities
Why are you grasping at straws here, that we have no reason to believe has anything to do with this situation.
>She had very strong facial features What does this have to do with anything? Are you claiming that strong facial features are associated with being gay? Because that's a really odd assumption.