Bodies of three girls found at tribal housing
By Martin Reed
Staff Writer

Authorities continue to investigate the deaths of three Northern Arapaho girls discovered Wednesday at the Beaver Creek tribal housing community south of Riverton.
Investigators have released few details about the case involving the deaths of Elyxis Gardner, 13; Winter Rose Thomas (also known as Winter Rose Jenkins), 14; and Alexandrea “Alex” WhitePlume, 15.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has refused to discuss possible causes of deaths or the presence of foul play in the case.
“As it is an ongoing investigation being conducted by the FBI, BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) and Fremont County Coroner’s Office, I really can’t comment any further,” Special Agent Kathleen Wright, spokeswoman for the FBI in Denver, said last week.
The discovery of the girls’ deaths resulted in numerous law enforcement members converging on the neighborhood about two miles south of Riverton on Wednesday.
The tragedy has dealt a blow to the Wind River Indian Reservation and surrounding area, reminding some of an epidemic of suicides of young tribal men in the mid-1980s.
“It is tragic what has happened,” Northern Arapaho Business Council Cochairman Anthony “Al” Addison Sr. said in a prepared statement last week. “These young girls haven’t had to see what life is all about. Our hearts go out to the families, their parents and grandparents because this is something that is very hard to deal with.”
The deaths have left many wondering why it happened.
Standing on the porch of his home in the Beaver Creek housing community south of Riverton, Francis Washington questioned what could have caused the deaths that included his granddaughter, Elyxis Gardner.
“When something happens like this you say, ‘I should have done something.’ But what can you do?” said Washington, who helped raise Gardner.
“This is a real tragedy,” he said Thursday morning. “Nothing ever happens like this.”
Debbie Jenkins, who helped raise Thomas, said amid tears the tragedy is unbearable for her.
“You don’t heal. It’s not easy to heal from something like this. You just turn to your traditional ways and beliefs to try to heal from that,” Jenkins said from her Beaver Creek home on Thursday morning.
She hopes that parents can prevent their children from dying at such a young age.
“Watch your kids,” Jenkins said. “Know where they’re at all the time. Turn back to the way it used to be” with parental supervision.
“If you see them (kids) where they’re not supposed to be, contact their family and let them know,” she said. “Just love your children, keep track of them, know where they’re at all the time.”
Authorities on Wednesday targeted their investigation around a home in the community where the girls may have been hanging out.
While accompanied by his family member Jenny Lujan, Washington said parents need to warn children about substance abuse dangers.
“Tell them about drugs, tell them about alcohol and to have respect for their Indian ways,” he said. “When I was growing up there were no drugs here. There was beer that I can remember.”
The Fremont County Coroner’s Office transported the girls’ bodies to McKee Medical Center in Loveland, Colo., on Thursday morning for autopsies, deputy county coroner Amy Boyle said.
“There would be possible preliminaries today but anything certain is going to be four to six weeks until we get the report back from the pathologist,” Boyle said Thursday morning. “There’s no guarantees there will be any answers today.”
Fremont County Coroner Ed McAuslan was on vacation Friday and his office refused to release information in his absence.
In an interview Thursday with the Associated Press, McAuslan said he did not have preliminary results from the autopsies to release.
The answers many in the community seek may arrive as the grieving continues within the community.
“I just couldn’t believe they’re gone,” said Jude Chargingcrow Sr., a close relative of two of the girls. “It’s a tragedy. It really hit us hard.”
Chargingcrow, during an interview at his home, recalled seeing one of the girls last Monday.
“We just need to kind of guard our children a little better, stay away from harmful things,” he said Thursday.
“I still don’t know the whole story,” he said. But he believes keeping “a better eye on our kids, keep them out of trouble” is needed.
He said tribal members are helping each other deal with the young losses.
“All day yesterday there were cars from that end to this end stopping by and paying respect to the family,” he said.
That is part of the healing process.
“The way we heal like this is is our native tradition,” Washington said. “We’re all Indian blood and we’re all relatives to one another. ... When people hear about things like this they all come over.”
Tribal members will gather for ceremonies in the coming days and say prayers.
“I think we’re all searching for answers,” said Patrick Goggles, a state lawmaker and member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe. “We don’t look for events such as this. We want our young people to do well, be in school, be healthy.”
Goggles said people can pray for the families and their losses and offer their support.
“It’s a terrible tragedy in every sense of the word,” he said. “We need to pray for the families that have suffered this terrible loss and support them as best as we can.”
The Northern Arapaho Tribe and others on the reservation are offering support services to help individuals cope with the deaths.
“Due to what has happened, the Wind River Indian Health Services and various tribal programs have brought together their counselors to serve as a trauma team to help the families cope with their loss,” Addison said.
“Various tribal leaders, members and programs have banded together to try and prevent this from occurring again and to help bring a safer environment to our children and community members,” Addison said.
Funeral services for WhitePlume will be at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 10, at the home she shared with her mother, Carmen Behan, at 127 Sage Brush Loop in the Beaver Creek housing complex. A wake for her will be Monday evening, June 9, also at the home.
Funeral services for Thomas are pending through the Davis Funeral Home of Riverton. Funeral information for Gardner had not been made available by press time Friday.