Tragic Death of 14-Year-Old Emily Pike

A 14-year-old girl found in a tragic state on an Arizona roadside once expressed her deep aversion to the group home she fled years ago, as shown in new body camera footage.

Emily Pike went missing from the Mesa Group Home on January 27, ultimately leading to her untimely death, which has been reported by various outlets.

Footage from a police interaction on September 20, 2023, captures Emily wandering by a canal. As officers call her name, she resists, voicing, “I don’t want to go back,” while visibly upset and asking to see her mother.

The girl, whose family resides on the San Carlos Apache Indian reservation, insisted that the facility wasn’t her home; she preferred living with her grandmother, as revealed in the video obtained by ABC 15.

In the recording, there’s a poignant moment when she states that no one understands her and that she feels neglected. “I’m not going to go to that f-cking group’s house,” she voiced emphatically. “I hate that.”

Throughout earlier instances when Emily went missing in 2023, she was usually located quickly, either returning home or being taken back to a behavioral health center. However, there was a concerning incident when a staff member from the group home reported her missing. The employee, with over a decade of experience, described searching thoroughly, noting that the gate was open and the screen door had been damaged.

Emily’s body was discovered on a dirt road weeks later, with authorities identifying her through an autopsy that revealed significant facial and head trauma. Sadly, her remains were found in several bags, with parts of her body unaccounted for, according to the Gila County Sheriff’s Office.

Police have identified three suspects related to her case, but, as of March, there have been no arrests. To tackle the investigation, a task force involving the Mesa Police Department, the FBI, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs has been established.

Heartbroken, Emily’s mother described her as “just innocent… she was a baby,” expressing her grief over her daughter’s tragic end.

In a recent legislative hearing, the Department of Child Safety indicated that Emily was under the tribe’s social services, and they had a role in overseeing Sacred Journey Inc., the group home where she spent time.

However, Alex Richie, the San Carlos Apache Attorney General, mentioned that while the group home had been alerting police and social services about Emily’s situation, concerns about her previous behavior led Child Protective Services to not see her as truly missing.