Ride for the missing, a road still without answers

Posted by Donovan Quintero | Apr 30, 2026 | News |

BERNALILLO, N.M.

Stacey Banach stood beside Evangeline “Vangie” Randall-Shorty on April 25, holding a phone with photos of her late sister.

Special to the Times | Donovan Quintero
Evangeline “Vangie” Randall-Shorty holds a poster of her son, Zachariah Juwaun Shorty, during the Ride for the Missing on April 25 in Albuquerque. Shorty went missing in 2020 and was later found dead, a case that remained under investigation for years as his family sought answers.

Around them, motorcycles lined the roadside. Some riders wore black. Others carried the red handprint symbol that has become synonymous with the movement for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives. Elizabeth Eriacho wore a beaded red-hand medallion around her neck.

For the families gathered along the route, the red handprint was not only a symbol. It was a reminder of relatives who were taken, relatives who disappeared, relatives whose cases went unanswered, and families left to keep speaking their names.

Families organized the ride to raise awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, traveling from Farmington toward Albuquerque, where the final Gathering of Nations was taking place. Riders moved through communities along U.S. Highway 550, including Kirtland, Bloomfield, Cuba, San Ysidro and Bernalillo. Randall-Shorty said the route was intentional because families across those communities have been affected.

“It’s very important that our communities know that we’re impacted,” she said. “Many families are impacted.”

To read the full article, please see the April 30, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.

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