Newly released body camera footage from Arizona’s Mesa Police Department shows additional details about the night Emily Pike vanished from her group home.
According to ABC 15, the videos, which occurred after she fled from the group home, revealed that Emily told police she wanted to return home and talk to her mother instead of remaining at her Mesa group home.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Emily was reported missing from the home operated by Sacred Journey Inc. three times in 2023 and a fourth time in January 2025.
Weeks later, on February 14, police found her dead off U.S. 60, near Globe. Someone dismembered her, leaving several body parts in trash bags. Some of her remains have yet to be recovered, and there have been no arrests in the case.
“I just want to see my mom,“ Emily told an officer in one of the videos.
Emily, 13 at the time, said the group home was not her real home, and at one point, she mentioned she would have preferred to stay with her grandmother.
She repeatedly stated that she wanted to speak to her mom. She then said that no one understood her or would help her.
“I’m not going to go to that f****** group home,” she said. “I hate it there.”
The officers eventually persuaded Emily to get in a police cruiser, and then they returned her to the group home.
The footage release comes after a legislative hearing last month that focused on Emily’s case and group home protocols.
Sacred Journey Inc. reportedly skipped the hearing, with state lawmakers attributing their absence to potential civil litigation.
The Department of Child Safety said that Emily had been under Tribal Social Services’ care and placed at Sacred Journey Inc. by the tribe, following two reported incidents of sexual assault when Emily lived on the reservation. One of the attacks allegedly happened when a family member assaulted her.
Days After Suspect’s Arrest, Special Agent Closes Sexual Abuse Case of Slain Indigenous Girl Emily Pike: Reports
Meanwhile, a $25,000 reward has been offered by the state, in addition to a $75,000 reward offered by the FBI and an additional $75,000 reward offered by the San Carlos Apache Tribe, for information that leads to an arrest in the case.
Police said that no one has been ruled out as a suspect in the ongoing murder investigation. The relative accused of sexual assault has not been publicly named, as the charges were dropped, but had reportedly visited Emily’s home even after the assault took place.
To assist in the investigation, the Gila County Sheriff’s Office and the San Carlos Apache Police Department have set up an online tip portal where anonymous tips can be submitted through tips411.
Information can also be reported to the Sheriff’s Office at 928-425-4449, option 1, or the San Carlos Apache Police Department at 928-475-1700.
Feature Photo via Mesa PD]
