Wyatt Little Light, Endangered Missing, 12/23/08 MT
Search for family continues By BECKY SHAY Of The Gazette Staff New leads are developed each day in the investigation into the disappearance of a young couple and their infant son, federal officials said Wednesday. Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement and the FBI are jointly investigating the disappearance of Teddy and Juliet Little Light and their 3-month-old son, Wyatt. Teddy Little Light was last seen Dec. 23 when he stopped by his mother's house on the Crow Indian Reservation to leave Christmas gifts for the couple's older son, who is staying with her. He said the family was going to Wyola. They haven't been seen or heard from since. More resources are being directed toward the investigation each day, said Matthew Pryor, special agent in charge of BIA law enforcement. Every tip that comes in is tracked down and leads to more information that also must be vetted. "Officers and agents are out there, notebooks in hand, knocking on doors," Pryor said. Other federal and local law enforcement agencies have assisted in verifying information. The cooperation has helped advance the investigation, said Eric Barnhart, the FBI supervisory senior resident agent in Billings. The men said one frustration has been a lack of candid reporting. Some people have filtered the information they provided to law enforcement, either to protect themselves or the Little Lights or because they don't think investigators need or care about some details. The result is investigators lose time chasing down information that could have been directly provided, they said. "As time wears on, our investigative priority is trying to obtain that unvarnished picture of what was going on with the Little Light family the last time they were seen," Barnhart said. "Obtaining that allows us to better allocate our resources. "Our number one priority is finding them safely," he said. "Anything that got them to this point is secondary." The Little Lights have not been seen or heard from for three weeks. There are alerts on national databases used by law enforcement, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has published a missing child post for Wyatt. Relatives were concerned that the family hadn't been in contact during the holidays. Authorities were called in after the Little Lights failed to attend the Jan. 3 funeral of Juliet Toineeta Little Light's grandmother. The family was reported missing on Jan. 5. That evening, an anonymous caller reported that Little Light's 1995 Chevy pickup was parked on an unimproved road on the Crow Indian Reservation. The pickup was found near Fort Smith on Grapevine Road, off of Highway 91 between Fort Smith and St. Xavier. Last week, Pryor and other investigators flew over the area where the pickup was located but didn't see any sign of the family. Relatives have said the Little Lights are outgoing people who might be seen in a social environment. Anyone who thinks he or she has information is encouraged to call law enforcement. "Even if you think your information is not worth calling, let us decide that," Pryor said. "Let us have the opportunity to at least have the information and make a decision." Everyone involved in the investigation hopes the Little Lights are safe. "The happy ending is this family shows up," Barnhart said. Published on Thursday, January 15, 2009. Last modified on 1/15/2009 at 12:29 am http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/01/15/news/state/35-littlelight.txt
Information about couple, child sought
Officials encourage anyone with information about the missing Little Light family to contact law enforcement officials.
Teddy Little Light, 30, is described as 6 feet, 1 inch tall and 180 pounds with brown eyes and a small amount of facial hair. He has dark brown hair that is cut short. Juliet Toineeta Little Light, 25, is 5 feet, 6 inches tall and 120 pounds, with light brown hair and brown eyes. She has pierced ears.
Wyatt Little Light was born Oct. 1. He is described as about 24 inches and around 15 pounds.
Law enforcement will accept anonymous tips. The Big Horn County Sheriff's office can be reached at 665-9780. Crow Agency police can be reached at 638-2631 or 1-866-540-7206. The FBI can be contacted at 248-8487. Or call your local law enforcement agency.
Search for family continues By BECKY SHAY Of The Gazette Staff New leads are developed each day in the investigation into the disappearance of a young couple and their infant son, federal officials said Wednesday. Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement and the FBI are jointly investigating the disappearance of Teddy and Juliet Little Light and their 3-month-old son, Wyatt. Teddy Little Light was last seen Dec. 23 when he stopped by his mother's house on the Crow Indian Reservation to leave Christmas gifts for the couple's older son, who is staying with her. He said the family was going to Wyola. They haven't been seen or heard from since. More resources are being directed toward the investigation each day, said Matthew Pryor, special agent in charge of BIA law enforcement. Every tip that comes in is tracked down and leads to more information that also must be vetted. "Officers and agents are out there, notebooks in hand, knocking on doors," Pryor said. Other federal and local law enforcement agencies have assisted in verifying information. The cooperation has helped advance the investigation, said Eric Barnhart, the FBI supervisory senior resident agent in Billings. The men said one frustration has been a lack of candid reporting. Some people have filtered the information they provided to law enforcement, either to protect themselves or the Little Lights or because they don't think investigators need or care about some details. The result is investigators lose time chasing down information that could have been directly provided, they said. "As time wears on, our investigative priority is trying to obtain that unvarnished picture of what was going on with the Little Light family the last time they were seen," Barnhart said. "Obtaining that allows us to better allocate our resources. "Our number one priority is finding them safely," he said. "Anything that got them to this point is secondary." The Little Lights have not been seen or heard from for three weeks. There are alerts on national databases used by law enforcement, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has published a missing child post for Wyatt. Relatives were concerned that the family hadn't been in contact during the holidays. Authorities were called in after the Little Lights failed to attend the Jan. 3 funeral of Juliet Toineeta Little Light's grandmother. The family was reported missing on Jan. 5. That evening, an anonymous caller reported that Little Light's 1995 Chevy pickup was parked on an unimproved road on the Crow Indian Reservation. The pickup was found near Fort Smith on Grapevine Road, off of Highway 91 between Fort Smith and St. Xavier. Last week, Pryor and other investigators flew over the area where the pickup was located but didn't see any sign of the family. Relatives have said the Little Lights are outgoing people who might be seen in a social environment. Anyone who thinks he or she has information is encouraged to call law enforcement. "Even if you think your information is not worth calling, let us decide that," Pryor said. "Let us have the opportunity to at least have the information and make a decision." Everyone involved in the investigation hopes the Little Lights are safe. "The happy ending is this family shows up," Barnhart said. Published on Thursday, January 15, 2009. Last modified on 1/15/2009 at 12:29 am http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/01/15/news/state/35-littlelight.txt
Information about couple, child sought
Officials encourage anyone with information about the missing Little Light family to contact law enforcement officials.
Teddy Little Light, 30, is described as 6 feet, 1 inch tall and 180 pounds with brown eyes and a small amount of facial hair. He has dark brown hair that is cut short. Juliet Toineeta Little Light, 25, is 5 feet, 6 inches tall and 120 pounds, with light brown hair and brown eyes. She has pierced ears.
Wyatt Little Light was born Oct. 1. He is described as about 24 inches and around 15 pounds.
Law enforcement will accept anonymous tips. The Big Horn County Sheriff's office can be reached at 665-9780. Crow Agency police can be reached at 638-2631 or 1-866-540-7206. The FBI can be contacted at 248-8487. Or call your local law enforcement agency.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is hoping that some national media exposure will help find a Crow Agency family who have been missing for more than a month.
The family was featured on Nancy Grace's program on Headline News earlier this week.
Teddy Littlelight, his wife Juliette and their 3 month old son Wyatt were last seen on December 23rd in Crow Agency.
BIA officials say that they have alerted the National center of Missing and Exploited Children, as well as Indian Reservations across the country.
Anyone with information regarding the Littlelights is asked to contact the BIA at (406) 638-2631.
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(from January 24, 2009)
The Littlelight family has been missing since last month and authorities haven't found a trace of them. But family and community members remain hopeful that they'll find the family.
The Littlelight's disappearance has really jolted this community, with a lot of people asking how three people can vanish without anyone seeing them. Even a month later, community members are continuing their own investigation efforts and say they wouldn't wish this feeling on anyone.
For 31 days now, Crow Agency family and community members have gathered at a rented office space, the headquarters of their own investigation.
April Toineeta, Juliet's aunt, continues to keep track of the progress -- a map displays where the family's pickup was found near Fort Smith. Authorities have combed through the area by air and ground.
"It's pretty hilly and mountainous, it's pretty rugged," said Larry Tobacco with Crow Tribe Fish and Game.
People involved in the efforts say it's been an emotional rollercoaster.
"We haven't stopped, I mean it's from early in the morning to late in the evening and we have so many people that have come forward from the tribe," said Toineeta.
Toineeta said everyone considers Juliet like a daughter and that feeling is what drives her everyday.
"I won't stop with her and her family with Teddy and baby Wyatt."
But as each day passes, a part of them fears the worst.
"I mean we've cried, but and then we have to pick ourselves up and keep looking and I think that's the hard thing is those are our down points is when we realize it's a month , but then we have to grab our strength," Toineeta said.
Teddy's mother Latonna was the last person who saw him alive on December 23rd.
"They told me not to lose faith, so I'm hanging on," Latonna said.
They've also been caring for their 3-year-old grandson Teddy Junior everyday. They said looking at him reminds them not to give up.
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(From Jan. 21, 2009)
Federal and tribal authorities are still searching for a missing Crow Agency family last seen on December 23rd.
Bureau of Indian Affairs Special Agent in charge, Matthew Pryor, says for the last three days, authorities have focused their search on a 12 mile radius of where the Littlelight's pickup was found on Grapevine Road near Fort Smith.
The BIA and FBI have brought in Fort Peck and Roosevelt County officers to assist in the investigation.
Authorities have done an aerial search of the area, and are using ATV's for the ground search.
Pryor says they continue to move forward and are concerned about Teddy and Juliet Toineeta- Littlelight and three month old Wyatt.
If you have any information, call the BIA at 638-2631