State announces new reward program for information on MMIR cases

ST. PAUL — The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office in the state’s Department of Public Safety announced a new tip program.

The program is intended to advance certain unsolved cases disproportionately impacting Native families.

The Gaagige-Mikwedaagoziwag Reward Fund is part of a new initiative to offer rewards of up to $10,000 in eligible missing persons, suspicious death and homicide investigations.

Two of the eligible cases for this reward program include the missing persons cases of Bemidji teens: 15-year-old Nevaeh Kingbird, who was last seen in October 2021; and 17-year-old Jeremy Jourdain, who was last seen in October 2016.

Lorie Shaull

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KAXE

Nevaeh’s mother, Teddi Wind, is still waiting for answers.

"There's not a day that doesn't go by that I don't cry, thinking about my daughter," Wind said. "I miss her with everything that I am. And I hope that with this reward fund, that we find some type of answers.”

“In Ojibwe, Gaagige-Mikwendaagoziwag means ‘They will be remembered forever,’” stated Sen. Mary Kunesh, who co-authored legislation to create the MMIR Reward Fund with Rep. Liish Kozlowski, in a news release.

“That name not only honors the ones who we have lost, but the families who still carry their memories. Those families stood strong. They demanded answers and justice. Today is their victory. And they, along with those they have lost, will be remembered forever.”

Bemidji Police Chief Mike Mastin joined a panel of speakers for the announcement at the state Capitol on Wednesday, July 23.

While many law enforcement agencies use CrimeStoppers as a reward line for tips, Mastin explained how the new program is different.

"This MMIR reward program was developed specifically for that office, and it has some nuanced items to it, which allow tipsters to be rewarded or paid for their information a little easier than CrimeStoppers," Mastin said.

"So, CrimeStoppers requires the tip to go directly through them, and then they disseminate it to the law enforcement agency. If the tip doesn't go through CrimeStoppers, it's automatically not eligible for payment for the reward."

The fund was given a $250,000 one-time legislative appropriation in 2023.

The reward program is also funded through the state’s MMIR license plates.

Mastin said the Bemidji Police Department has investigated hundreds of tips in Nevaeh’s and Jeremy’s disappearances, but the leads can fizzle out when the tipsters stop responding.

"My hope through this is that my presence there, the introduction of this reward program, once again gets their names out there, gets them back in the minds of people who might know something," Mastin said. "And this is the nudge that they need to do the right thing and come forward with information."

Anyone with information on Nevaeh or Jeremy’s disappearances can contact the Bemidji Police Department at 218-333-9111.