Pay it 4ward: Woman recognized for running Navajo Nation Missing Persons Updates

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Unfortunately, missing and murdered Indigenous women is a problem across the country. Now, KOB 4 helps recognize one woman who has made it her life’s mission to try and reunite these families.

On this week’s Pay It 4ward, Spencer Schacht helped deliver multiple gifts to honor the woman who never gives up looking.

Normally a Pay It 4ward is $400, but this week – these women say they can’t give back enough.

“She’s amazing, she’s a great role model and it think she deserves it,” said Charmaine Jackson. “I felt like doing something really special for her, all of our group wanted to do something really special for her.”

Meskee Yatsayte runs the Navajo Nation Missing Persons Updates—through her work on social media and in the community she hopes to reconnect families with those they have lost

“She has been running this non-profit organization to help find missing and murdered people in the Navajo area and she has been doing it for 10 years all by herself,” said Jackson.

“She needs to be amplified for her work and so much gratitude for her work and what she is doing," said Rebecca Touchin, Pay It 4ward nominator.

So on National Human Traffic Awareness Day, these women called Yatsayte in for a "meeting." But she had no idea what was coming.

“We wanted to present you $400 here you go for you your work,” said Jackson. “For all your hard work you are an angel, thank you so much for putting the work out there for us.”

After receiving gift after gift – she was overwhelmed with gratitude.

"This is beautiful, thank you,” said Yatsayte.

It was hugs all around.

“Through the cities to our First Nations tribes it’s heartbreaking but it takes a lot of us women and a lot of us advocates to do what we do, and we have been doing this without any help, without any support sometimes but we keep doing it,” said Yatsayte.

And now she got a little more support she didn’t see coming.

“I’m just going to continue to do what I do with this, I can get more flyers made and continue to do what I do it’s not going to stop,” Yatsayte said.