Authorities seek help finding three missing San Juan County residents

Authorities in San Juan County and Farmington were asking for immediate public help locating 17-year-old Angella Woody, last seen in Farmington on April 25, 15-year-old Miley Richter, missing from San Juan County since the evening of April 26, and 67-year-old Annette Christine Tafoya, who was last seen in Farmington on April 2.

The Navajo Police Department alerted the public about Woody, whose case highlights the role tribal law enforcement can play when a missing person may cross jurisdictions or involve Indigenous families. The New Mexico Department of Public Safety says its Turquoise Alert is the statutory alert system for missing Indigenous persons, designed to coordinate notifications across law enforcement, media and emergency channels.

Tafoya’s state missing-person entry lists her as Annette Christine Tafoya and gives the Farmington Police Department as the contact agency at (505) 599-1054. New Mexico’s Missing Persons Clearinghouse, which the Department of Public Safety describes as the state’s central repository for missing-person reports, including tribal-agency cases, is also asking anyone with information to call 1-800-457-3463.

The cluster of recent cases is drawing attention in a county that just closed another missing-child case safely. On March 19, San Juan County officials said a missing child from the county had been found alive and well in California after a complex investigation that involved a parent charged with custodial interference. That case showed how quickly a local disappearance can become a multi-agency search stretching well beyond county lines.

Nationally, the scale is sobering. NamUs says as many as 100,000 people may be reported missing in the United States at any given time, with as many as 600,000 missing-person reports filed each year. In cases involving teens like Woody and Richter, and older adults like Tafoya, early tips can be critical before a trail grows cold.

Anyone with information on any of the three cases should contact the listed agencies immediately. For Tafoya, the Farmington Police Department number is (505) 599-1054. For other missing-person information in New Mexico, the Department of Public Safety asks the public to call 1-800-457-3463.