Tribal police offering reward for missing Tribal member

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

Grand Ronde Tribal Police are seeking information on the whereabouts of 33-year-old Tribal member Tenatia Jackson-Crain and are offering $1,000 for information that results in her being found.

She was last seen in Corning, Calif., in March 2023 and has ties to Portland.

Jackson-Crain was first reported as a potential missing person in July 2023 after a meeting between the Tribe’s Social Services Department and Tribal Police.

Jackson-Crain is approximately 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs 130 pounds. She has brown eyes and brown hair. Identifying marks include piercings below her lower lip on opposite ends, ear piercings and cheek bone piercings. She has a large floral tattoo on the left side of her abdomen.

 “Upon reaching out to family, we learned that it was not uncommon for her to not be in contact for periods of time,” Tribal Police Detective Tokata Tehama said. “We endeavored to look for her regardless as well as looking for four other Tribal members that were believed at-risk. During these cases, we learned there are not many laws in place when an adult ‘chooses’ to go without contact with family unless there is some type of medical diagnosis labeling them as a danger to themselves or others.”

After doing further investigation, police were able to locate the four other Tribal members, but not Jackson-Crain.

A flyer with three photos and a description was sent to all Tribal employees on Wednesday, Feb. 7.

“The flyer itself was reviewed first by family and then when approved, a copy was (also) sent to that family member so that it could be shared with whomever,” Tehama said.  

Tribal Police Chief Jake McKnight updated Tribal Council on the search efforts later that afternoon.

“Since this flyer went out, we have gotten nonstop phone calls from people in the public and it really shows that people truly care about our missing Indigenous people,” he said. “I want to take a little time and talk about her situation that we know of now. At this time, we have no reason to believe she is in danger but we just really want to talk to her. We’ve been looking for her just to have any sort of contact…We don’t care if she has warrants or any outstanding issues, we just want to know she’s safe and possibly get her services through the Tribe if she needs them.”  

Tribal police have worked with the FBI, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, California’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous People unit, the Portland Police Bureau, Tehama County Sheriff’s Office, Tehama County Probation Department and the Corning Police Department in an effort to find Jackson-Crain.

Additionally, her information has been entered into the Law Enforcement Database System and the National Crime Information Center.

Contact Tribal Police at 541-921-2927 with any information.

This is a developing story and will be updated.