Sorrell, who worked at the school district in Fort Defiance, Arizona, has been missing since that day, 18 years ago. She was dropped off by her husband, according to a statement he gave to authorities.<\/p>\n
The FBI and the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety are offering a $10,000 reward and are asking for any information on the 18th anniversary of Sorrell\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n
Sorrell was first reported missing by a family member on July 8, 2002, to the Navajo Police Department. She lived on the Navajo Nation in Navajo, New Mexico, north of Gallup.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very committed to resolving this case, and we continue to seek the public\u2019s help for any information that would be helpful to us,\u201d said Jesse Delmar, executive director of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been almost 18 years since Sorrell went missing, and still very little is known about her disappearance.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Sorrell\u2019s family asked for the public\u2019s assistance in finding out what happened to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter the outcome, we are determined to bring her home and find closure for our family,\u201d the statement read. \u201cLaverda was everything to our family: a daughter, a mother, a sister and an aunt, who was such a compassionate, selfless and caring person.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reward of up to $10,000 is for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for Sorrell\u2019s disappearance, according to the FBI.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone who disappears often leaves behind loved ones who will never stop looking for them, and that\u2019s the case with Laverda,\u201d said James Langenberg, the special agent in charge of the Albuquerque FBI division. \u201cThe FBI is committed to providing answers to her family, and we will not stop looking for her either.\u201d<\/p>\n
The FBI is also redistributing a missing-person\u2019s poster of Sorrell<\/a> in English and Din\u00e9, the Navajo language. It is the first time the federal agency has released a missing-person\u2019s poster in Din\u00e9, according to the department.<\/p>\n The 18th anniversary of Sorrell\u2019s disappearance comes as more attention is focused nationally on the disproportionate numbers of Native and Indigenous women who go missing each year.<\/p>\n In 2019 alone, about 5,600 Native American women<\/a> were reported missing, according to the FBI\u2019s National Crime Information Center. But activists say the number is likely higher than those reported. It\u2019s a number that is nearly twice the per capita rate of white Americans who go missing, according to the FBI<\/a>.<\/p>\n A Department of Justice-funded study<\/a> also found Native women living on tribal lands were murdered at more than 10 times the national average in 2008.<\/p>\n