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YAKIMA, Washington (KAPP) -- While Valentine’s Day is often a time to celebrate love, for Indigenous families with missing or murdered loved ones, it is often a day to remember and make their voices heard.
Families gathered at Wellness House in Yakima on Thursday to share their stories at "Rosenda's Hope", an event organized by advocate Cissy Strong Reyes in honor of her sister, Rosenda Strong.
Rosenda Strong disappeared from Toppenish in the fall of 2018 and her body was found in the summer of 2019.
"When I started doing the advocacy for my sister, there were no resources in this area," Strong Reyes said.
More than six years later, Washington state has new resources, such as an MMIP task force and a Missing Indigenous Person Alert system through the Washington State Patrol.
Strong Reyes said justice for her sister is also progressing through the federal court system.
"Seven were indicted," Strong Reyes said. "There were actually two lives that were taken. One was my sister and then her alleged killer."
Despite these developments, Strong Reyes said resources remain lacking for families with missing loved ones, including support for children left behind.
For others, like Mona Renee Vallo, justice remains elusive.
"That’s what everybody knows of her: her kindness, her joking around, her laughter," said her son, Adrian Jackson. "It was good medicine and it was good for her to spread that around."
Vallo was killed in a hit-and-run in New Mexico in 2022. Jackson said there have been no arrests and he's not aware of any leads or progress made in her case.
"I haven’t heard anything from the FBI agents," Jackson said.
Others, like Benita Long, are still missing.
"She was a fighter, you know? Like, she’d fight for the underdog," said her cousin, Loni Long.
Benita Long was reported missing from Toppenish in March 2022, though someone reported seeing her the following month. Her family said they have received no updates from law enforcement but remain determined to find answers.
"There’s a lot of people, you know, thinking about her, missing her and loving her and praying that, you know, something, whatever’s in the dark just comes out to light," Loni Long said.
Families at the event said the community can support them by listening to their voices, sharing their stories and simply showing up.
