Native family's missing son got different treatment

FROM THE ARCHIVE

URL: https://www.indianz.com/News/archives/002845.asp

Thursday, December 4, 2003

The family of a Turtle Mountain Ojibwe teen who was reported missing and later turned up dead says race played a factor in how the police handled the case. They say much more attention has been paid to a white student whose disappearance is the focus of a major criminal probe.

Russell Turcotte, 17, was last seen around Grand Forks, North Dakota, in July 2002. His parents say they had to push police to investigate. There was little attention from high-level politicians, and media coverage was limited to a couple of newspapers. The family relied on tribes and volunteers to help search for their son.

The situation contrasts with that of Dru Sjodin, who only recently went missing in Grand Forks. Authorities have not found her, but they amassed huge search teams and have arrested a man for kidnapping her. The case has drawn national and international attention.

Turcotte's father believes race played a role in the disparate treatment. "What is different about Russell's disappearance and subsequent murder, other than our son is obviously Native American, and we are also," Bill Turcotte told The Grand Forks Herald. "Now, you have a blond-haired, blue-eyed white girl. Where is the justice? Where is the equality? It doesn't seem to be there."

Turcotte's mother, a member of the Assiniboine Sioux Tribe from the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana, has accused police of mishandling the case. "Why they wouldn't take us serious but took everyone else in this case dead serious the minute [Dru Sjodin] wasn't there," Linda Flynn said.

Get the Story:
Turcotte family wants same attention for their case (The Grand Forks Herald 12/4)