Neil Little Eagle, an American Indian/Alaska Native man born April 15, 1968, was reported missing in July 2017 from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation area of Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota. Accounts of his last-seen circumstances differ by source. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Office of Justice Services lists his last known location as Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and states he was last seen at the Pine Ridge Indian Health Service Emergency Room on July 20, 2017. The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) and the South Dakota Missing Persons Clearinghouse instead place his last sighting in the nearby community of Porcupine, South Dakota, stating he left the area on foot, headed toward Scottsbluff, Nebraska, roughly 150 miles away; the South Dakota registry lists the date as July 27, 2017. A separate account circulated by family members states Little Eagle had been staying at a relative's home in Porcupine and was last seen getting into a car in the driveway while a young relative briefly stepped away. He has not been located since. Descriptions of Little Eagle vary across records: he is listed as 5 feet 2 inches to 5 feet 4 inches tall and between 130 and 170 pounds, with hair described as black or brown and eyes described as brown or blue depending on the source. Family and case records state he lives with dementia and seizures, is legally blind, and did not have his medication with him when he went missing. He may introduce himself as "Mesu" and ask for directions to Scottsbluff.
The case is being investigated by the Pine Ridge Oglala Sioux Tribal Police Department in coordination with the BIA Office of Justice Services Missing and Murdered Unit (MMU), which lists Savannah Peterson as the assigned agent. Little Eagle is entered in NamUs as Missing Person case #MP51569 (case created August 4, 2018) and remains listed as an open/active case by both the BIA and the South Dakota Missing Persons Clearinghouse. No suspects, persons of interest, or arrests have been publicly reported in connection with his disappearance. Little Eagle is enrolled with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota, per BIA records. Tips may be submitted to BIA OJS MMU by texting "BIAMMU" to 847411, calling 1-833-560-2065, or emailing OJS_MMU@bia.gov.
