GREAT FALLS — Rikisha "Kisha" Bear, a young woman from Rocky Boy's Reservation, was reported missing while visiting friends on the Flathead Reservation in Pablo on Feb. 4, 2024.
Since then, family and friends have been unable to contact Kisha, who reportedly has been seen in recent weeks in the Great Falls area.
For Kisha Bear’s 20th birthday on Tuesday, friends searching for Kisha in Great Falls hosted a gathering at Gibson Park to bring awareness to the community about Kisha, and other missing Indigenous Women.
They invited the public to write messages on red dresses, a symbol of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). The dresses will be displayed around town in the hopes Kisha sees the messages written on them.
Emma Jane is a friend of Kisha’s and also one of the organizers of the event.
“If there's any way Keisha sees this, no matter what is going on, no matter what has happened or, you know, whatever she needs, like, we just love her no matter what. And we just want to meet her where she's at, whatever she needs, and we just want to be able to come face to face with her and tell her that.”
Originally from Iowa, Emma Jane met Kisha while living on the Rocky's Boy Reservation while doing research for her podcast called Out of Sight: Missing and Murdered (link) about missing and murdered Native Americans.
Emma Jane was visiting the sister of Cole Stump, a Native American man shot by police in Billings in 2020. During the months Emma Jane stayed on the reservation, she met Kisha Bear.
She says her and Kisha developed a younger-sister-like bond in the time they spent together.
Emma Jane says, “She’s just really bubbly and, like, funny, and she’s very resilient. She has this light.”
Emma Jane, as well as Kisha’s friends and family, have now been dedicating time and resources to the search, giving out water bottles with information, and operating on donations for fliers and other supplies.
Emma Jane hopes to soon receive funding from the Snowbird Fund, which supports Montana Native families in their search for missing Indigenous people.
Several businesses in the area have also lent a helping hand in the search, offering to print fliers free of charge as well as laminating Kisha’s information on water bottles.
Recent reported sightings of Kisha have led law enforcement to believe she is still in the Great Falls area. She also has ties to Billings and Missoula.
Kisha is 4’11” with brown eyes, and has a tattoo that reads ‘babygirl’ on her left collarbone. It has also been reported she has another tattoo on the side of her neck. Her hair color could now be dyed red, blue, or brown.
If you have any information or tips that could help find Kisha, you can send an email to BringKishaHome@gmail.com or call/text 406-604-2423, or contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Department at 406-883-7301, or the Rocky Boy Police Department at 406-395-4513.
Click here to visit the Facebook page that is coordinating information. If you would like to donate to the search for Kisha Bear, click here.
The Out Of Sight podcast shared this video:
