Gallup police seek missing Diné man last seen in 2017

Gallup police are asking the public for help finding Curtis Lee Endischee, a 58-year-old Diné man whose case was posted June 17 after a family member reported him missing on June 15. The notice says Endischee was last seen in October 2017, when his parents dropped him off at the Greyhound station at 3405 W. Hwy. 66, and police say his possible location is Albuquerque, where he is known to stay at a homeless shelter.

The Gallup notice describes Endischee as 5 feet 10 inches tall, about 214 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. The New Mexico Department of Public Safety’s missing-person entry lists a matching name and says Endischee was born Dec. 21, 1967. That state entry says he was last seen on Oct. 1, 2017, in Albuquerque, lists his age then as 49 and his age now as 58, and describes him as 6 feet tall, 200 pounds, with brown hair, brown eyes and American Indian/Alaskan Native race.

Cases like this often move through more than one system, especially when a person may have drifted between cities, shelters and family contact. New Mexico’s Missing Persons Information Clearinghouse serves as the state’s central repository for missing-person cases, including those handled by tribal agencies, and the department says it posts a picture and brief description while coordinating with police agencies and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to keep information current. The state also operates the Turquoise Alert, its statutory alert system for missing Indigenous persons, intended to improve the speed, visibility and consistency of statewide responses.

Nationally, missing-person investigations are often slowed by fragmented information-sharing across agencies and by the fact that many cases remain open for years. NamUs, the national database and support program for missing, unclaimed and unidentified persons cases, says 17 states now require law enforcement to enter information into the system. In McKinley County, where Gallup often serves as a regional link between local families, Albuquerque connections and tribal communities, that makes fast, accurate reporting especially important.

Anyone with information on Endischee is asked to call Metro Dispatch at 505-722-2002 or the Gallup Police Department at 505-863-9365. Do not try to approach him; share the location, time and any identifying details with dispatch right away.