WHO KILLED ROSENDA STRONG

FOUR YEARS AFTER THE YOUNG MOTHER OF 4 VANISHED FROM THE YAKAMA INDIAN RESERVATION IN WASHINGTON AND WAS FOUND MURDERED, HER FAMILY IS STILL FIGHTING FOR ANSWERS—AND JUSTICE

- STEVE HELLING , CHRISTINE PELISEK

Known for her distinctive laugh and fun-loving personality, Rosenda Strong loved socializing and spending time out with her friends. So it just seemed like another normal Sunday on Sept. 30, 2018, when she kissed her sister on the forehead and headed out with an acquaintance to a nearby casino on the Yakama Indian Reservation in Toppenish, Wash. The 31-year-old mother of four was seen exiting the building after midnight—but never came home. Her sister Cissy Strong Reyes, who at times cared for Rosenda’s children, was frantic and searched several of Rosenda’s friends’ houses on the reservation before turning to the Yakama Nation Tribal Police for help. “The officer was like, ‘Rosenda Strong? Oh, she’s just probably partying. She’ll pop up sometime,’ recalls Cissy, who filed a missing-persons report on Rosenda on Oct. 2. But I was having a big anxiety attack. This was out of the ordinary.”

For nearly 10 excruciating months, there was no sign of Rosenda. Then, on July 4, 2019, came the news they had all been dreading: Two homeless men had found remains inside an abandoned freezer at adump site on the reservation. Authorities used dental records to confirm Rosenda’s identity but were unable to determine the cause of her death because of the badly decomposed condition of her body. Still, they consider it a homicide.