The Department of Justice and FBI announced results from Operation Not Forgotten 2026, a nationwide personnel surge focused on unresolved cases in Indian country, with priority on violence against women and children, including missing or murdered individuals.
Now in its fourth year, the initiative deployed added investigators and resources from April 1 through September 30, producing 118 arrests, 41 people charged in federal court, 25 child victims identified or located, and 72 weapons recovered. According to officials, FBI agents completed 990 interviews and carried out 232 searches. Arrests rose by 123% and federal charges by 52% compared with 2025.
“The Department of Justice will always work to deliver justice for the victims of violent crime in Indian country,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said, crediting the FBI, U.S. Attorneys, and federal and tribal partners with helping make communities safer and supporting victims and families through Operation Not Forgotten and Operation Steadfast Promise.
FBI Director Kash Patel said this year’s operation represented the Bureau’s largest commitment to Indian Country to date, citing more than 500 cases worked during the April-to-September surge, a 59% increase over last year, along with 118 arrests and 41 federal charges. Patel noted the efforts included life-saving operations addressing child sexual abuse, physical assault, domestic violence, and child sexual abuse material cases.
“Operation Not Forgotten sends a loud and clear message that our long-forgotten partners in Indian Country are forgotten no more,” Director Patel added, pointing to 400 agents dedicated to Indian country, 30 Safe Trails Task Forces, and the Voices Not Forgotten program, which raised minimum rewards to at least $25,000 for information in certain homicide, kidnapping, and missing persons cases.
Billy Kirkland, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior, said the operation reflects the administration’s commitment to tribal public safety and victim support through collaboration with tribal, state, and local law enforcement and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Operation Not Forgotten 2026: cases and charges
Officials highlighted several prosecutions advanced during the surge:
- District of Wyoming: Eighteen people were federally indicted in connection with violent crimes and child abuse on the Wind River Indian Reservation. In U.S. v. Jose Benito Ocon, a grand jury charged the defendant with first-degree murder, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon related to an August 2025 incident near Riverton. If convicted, he faces a mandatory life sentence. In U.S. v. Darlynn Sheree Seminole, charges followed a June 2026 domestic violence intervention by the BIA Wind River Police Department involving alleged severe physical trauma to a 10-year-old.
- District of Nevada: A federal grand jury in July issued a superseding indictment charging Delshay Astor with the alleged February 2022 murder of Anna Scott, a member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, on the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, and charged Joel Christy with assisting Astor to avoid capture.
- District of Minnesota: Four cases were filed during the surge for violent and sexual offenses in Indian country, including sexual abuse of minors, domestic assault causing substantial bodily injury, assault by strangulation, and assault with intent to commit kidnapping. One case, U.S. v. Courtney John Barrett Sr., brought a September 22, 2026 indictment on two counts of sexual abuse of a minor.
- District of Montana: Michael Plentybuffalo was charged in the death of Shann Nomee, who went missing in January 2024 during extreme cold and was later found deceased north of Lodge Grass after a community search and a tip to the BIA. The case is pending trial.
- Also in Montana: Lance Crookedarm was charged in a May 2026 violent assault and non-fatal strangulation of a woman.
- District of Arizona: At least four cases were charged, including two violent assaults, an arson, and aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 12 on the Navajo Nation, as well as an additional assault on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation.
FBI’s Operation Steadfast Promise
Operation Steadfast Promise, launched in 2026, is an ongoing surge effort to counter a broad range of violent crime threats affecting Indian country. Building on the results of Operation Not Forgotten 2026, the FBI, alongside U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and other federal and tribal partners, has expanded support across multiple jurisdictions. Since April, the FBI has opened more than 1,200 new investigations in Indian country, obtained criminal charges against 678 subjects, made more than 700 arrests, recovered 2,260 weapons, and executed 140 drug seizures.
This year’s Operation Not Forgotten continued to address more than 4,000 open investigations in Indian country, including death investigations, child abuse, domestic violence, and adult sexual abuse cases, underscoring the need for sustained investment in public safety resources.
During the surge, the FBI deployed investigative, intelligence, and support personnel on rotating temporary duty in 12 field offices: Albuquerque, Billings, Detroit, Denver, Jackson, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Portland, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City. Working with Tribal law enforcement, the BIA Missing and Murdered Unit, and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, authorities advanced open cases and sought accountability for victims and families.
The FBI also directed attention to its Voices Not Forgotten webpage, which features a searchable, interactive map highlighting investigations in Indian country where public assistance is sought. In August 2026, the Bureau established a protocol setting a minimum reward of up to $25,000 for publicly advertised homicide, kidnapping, and missing persons cases in Indian country where it has jurisdiction.
Officials emphasized the ongoing partnership with Tribal communities and law enforcement agencies to confront violent crime in Indian country. Tips can be submitted to local FBI field offices or online at https://tips.fbi.gov.
Previous surge efforts, including FBI Summer Heat 2.0 yields 8,927 arrests, major seizures, have similarly focused on concentrated enforcement campaigns targeting violent crime and illegal weapons.