Operation Not Forgotten Surged 64 FBI Personnel to 10 FBI Field Offices to Support Investigations of Indian Country Violent Crimes

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department yesterday announced results from its six-month surge of FBI assets across the country to address violent crime in Indian Country, including crimes relating to missing or murdered Indigenous persons.

The FBI sent 64 personnel, rotating in 30–90-day temporary duty assignments over a six-month period to support field offices in Albuquerque; Denver; Detroit; Jackson, Miss.; Minneapolis; Oklahoma City; Phoenix; Portland, Oreg.; Seattle; and Salt Lake City. The FBI worked in partnership with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal law enforcement agencies across jurisdictions. This operation was the longest and most intense national deployment of FBI resources to address Indian Country crime to date.  

“These dedicated efforts by FBI agents, together with the BIA and our tribal law enforcement partners, have solved crimes, protected victims of violence, and brought much needed safety and security to communities in Indian country,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We will never forget the crime victims whose cases remain unsolved, and we will continue our pursuit until justice is served.”

“One of the biggest problems tribal communities face is the vast amount of land to account for, requiring significant resources to crush violent crime,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “As FBI Director, I’m committed to surging personnel to these areas and working hand-in-hand with Tribal partners. Operation Not Forgotten is a major step forward in giving these communities the justice that they deserve.”

FBI personnel were assisted by 36 personnel from the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit (BIA MMU). Combined, those personnel provided investigative and intelligence support by assisting in over 330 investigations. BIA MMU also provided technical support and expertise through ground-penetrating radar, underwater cameras, and sonar searches.  Operation Not Forgotten contributed to the success of the FBI’s Indian Country program. In FY25 alone, the FBI’s Indian Country initiatives accomplished the following:  1260 individuals charged, 1123 arrests, 304 weapons recovered, and 458 child victims identified or located. 

“The United States Attorney’s Office in Arizona continues to bring the most cases related to crimes affecting tribal members in the country” said United States Attorney Timothy Courchaine.  “The national surge in resources brought much needed assets to tribal communities in a number of the twenty-two Indian reservations located throughout the state. Thanks to the continued work of our tribal, FBI, and BIA partners, Assistant United States Attorneys in our office will continue to bring justice for crime victims and their communities.”

“Agents assigned to Indian Country offices have significant caseloads and most of those cases include extremely violent crimes,” said FBI Phoenix Acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Schaeffer. “The surge of resources here in Arizona thanks to Operation Not Forgotten provided our agents some additional help to move cases along quicker and served as a force multiplier with the primary goal of helping victims and ensuring that justice is served.”

In a sustained commitment to justice and public safety in tribal communities, the Arizona United States Attorneys’ Office united with the FBI during the six-month surge in Operation Not Forgotten. During the operation in Arizona, FBI personnel were assigned temporary duties at field offices in some of the most remote tribal communities throughout the state. Together, FBI agents and federal prosecutors addressed urgent law enforcement challenges, particularly crimes against women and children, crimes committed by juveniles, and missing or murdered Indigenous people in Indian Country. Additionally, agents and prosecutors worked closely with tribal law enforcement, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and other community partners.

During the 2025 surge (from April 1st – September 30th), the United States Attorneys’ Office in the District of Arizona opened approximately 154 Indian Country-Violent Crime investigations, and obtained more than 73 indictments and complaints combined. Overall, Operation Not Forgotten contributed to removing violent criminals from tribal communities throughout Arizona.

Some of those defendants charged or convicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona include the following:

Kevin Ronnie Tungovia, 47, was arrested and charged with sexual abuse of a minor and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  Tungovia is alleged to have provided methamphetamine to the minor during the timeframe he engaged in sexual acts with her. A federal search warrant was executed on Tungovia’s residence where agents located baggies, scales, and a pipe with residue.  Tungovia and will remain in custody pending trial.  (FBI Tucson/USAO District of Arizona)

Richard Alex Buitimea, 35, was sentenced to 10 years in prison following a conviction for one count of Possession of Child Pornography.  According to evidence presented during trial, authorities were alerted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that a Google Drive account belonging to Buitimea contained possible child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Acting on this tip, agents with the FBI obtained a search warrant for Buitimea’s account and discovered over 1,000 images and 21 videos of CSAM.  (FBI Tucson/USAO District of Arizona)

Indian Country faces persistent levels of violent crime and victimization. At the beginning of Fiscal Year 2025, FBI’s Indian Country program had approximately 4,300 open investigations, including over 900 death investigations, 1,000 child abuse investigations, and more than 500 domestic violence and adult sexual abuse investigations.  

Operation Not Forgotten renews efforts begun during President Trump’s first term under E.O. 13898, Establishing the Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. This is the third deployment under Operation Not Forgotten, which has provided investigative support to over 760 cases in the past three years. Combined, these operations resulted in 249 arrests, 235 subjects charged, 109 subjects convicted, and services were provided to nearly 2,000 victims and victim family members.  

Operation Not Forgotten also expands upon the resources deployed in recent years to address cases of missing or murdered Indigenous people. The effort will be supported by the Department’s MMIP Regional Outreach Program, which places attorneys and community coordinators in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the United States to help prevent and respond to cases of missing or murdered Indigenous people.

RELEASE NUMBER:    2025-168_Operation_Not_Forgotten

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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