Sa'Wade Birdinground wears an elk tooth necklace. The FBI put that detail on its poster next to her height and her weight, because it is the kind of thing a stranger might notice and hold on to. She is a member of the Crow Tribe, born in Montana. On the night she was last seen she had been thirteen for a little over two weeks. She stands between five feet four and five feet five, weighs 130 to 140 pounds, and has brown eyes and curly brown hair.
The FBI describes Sa'Wade as quiet, kind and artistic, and says she likes to laugh. The bureau says she is well liked among her teachers and her peers. It also says she has never run away from home and has never been in serious trouble.
That night she was wearing a black hoodie with mushrooms on it, an anime T-shirt, basketball shorts, and purple slip-on Skechers. She may have had a black and purple Adidas backpack with her.
After eleven o'clock on October 6
Sa'Wade was last seen at her family's residence in Garryowen, Montana, within the boundaries of the Crow Indian Reservation, after approximately 11:00 p.m. on October 6, 2024, according to the FBI. Newsweek reported that the home belongs to her grandparents. The Big Horn County Sheriff's Office likewise placed her last sighting at her home in Garryowen that night. Since then, the FBI said, she has had no known contact with family or friends.
Garryowen sits on the Crow Indian Reservation, about 65 miles southeast of Billings. According to the city's website, it lies on the Garryowen bend of the Little Bighorn River, near the former site of Sitting Bull's camp. The surrounding country was a traditional summer hunting campsite for many Plains Indian tribes, and the site of one of the largest Indian gatherings ever recorded in North America.
What happened after eleven o'clock has never been established. The record holds no confirmed sighting of Sa'Wade after that hour at her family's residence, and no account of how or why she left it. The FBI said her disappearance from home is totally out of character for her, and that her family is very concerned.
A search across the reservation
The searchers came from every level of government and from the community itself. Early searches by the FBI, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, local law enforcement, community members, and the Montana National Guard produced no confirmed sightings and no significant leads, KTVQ reported.
Sixteen days after she was last seen, the FBI's Billings field office published a Kidnappings and Missing Persons release about her. The executive branch of the Crow Tribe matched the FBI's $5,000 reward, creating a combined $10,000, Newsweek reported. Frank Whiteclay, the chairman of the Crow Tribe, said the administration matched the award to show Sa'Wade's family and the community that it would assist during a crisis. The FBI's offer has since grown: the bureau now offers a reward of up to $15,000 for information leading to Sa'Wade's recovery.
The community answered in its own way. Following a Friday press conference, community members held a walk and presented red balloons at Little Big Horn College. According to Yellowstone Public Radio, the balloons symbolized collective hope and the continued effort to bring Sa'Wade home.
Her father, Wade Birdinground, said the family's life has been completely different and horrible since her disappearance. He thanked the FBI, the Crow Tribe, and others for helping and for continuing to search for his daughter.
Dozens reported missing every year
Federal and tribal authorities have described Sa'Wade's case as exceptional because of her age and the circumstances. They have also placed it inside a longer struggle, that of Indigenous communities in which dozens of members are reported missing each year. Crow Tribe data indicates that about 78 missing persons are reported annually, with most cases soon resolved. Sa'Wade's case was not. She has not been heard from since October 6, 2024.
The organization Native Hope says Indigenous women make up a disproportionate majority of missing and murdered women in the United States. It says the murder rate is ten times higher for women living on reservations. Murder, it says, is the third leading cause of death for Native women.
During 2025, the FBI doubled the number of special agents assigned to investigate cases on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne tribal nations.
Mehtab Syed is the FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Salt Lake City Field Office, which covers Montana, Utah, and Idaho. When Sa'Wade had been gone eight months, Syed said that eight months is an incomprehensible amount of time for a family to be without its child, and that Sa'Wade's family had to know life without her for that long. Syed said Sa'Wade is not forgotten, that she matters, and that the FBI is doing everything in its power to bring her home.
An open case and two phone numbers
The investigation into Sa'Wade's disappearance remains active, carried by federal, tribal, and local agencies. Investigators are seeking public tips and following all available leads. The FBI said investigators are taking the case very seriously because of the investigation's progress and the amount of time she has been missing, and that they are pursuing every lead. Rhys Williams said the FBI is asking the public to help locate Sa'Wade and will not stop until authorities have answers.
Big Horn County Sheriff Jeramie Middlestead said the community's help is crucial and urged anyone with information to come forward immediately. He said Sa'Wade's family is deeply worried and that any information, no matter how small, could make a difference. Community leaders urged the public to remain vigilant and to share information widely on social media.
The FBI established a dedicated tip line for Sa'Wade's case at the Salt Lake City Field Office: 801-579-6195. The bureau has also asked anyone with information to call 406-665-9798, and tips can be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov. The reward stands at up to $15,000 for information leading to her recovery.
The FBI updated its release on Sa'Wade in June 2026, more than a year and a half after she was last seen. The bureau said that any details about her, no matter how small, could help bring her home safely.
