‘Beyond frustrating’: Family claims they weren't properly notified about 16-year-old’s disappearance

Gourneau told Buffalo’s Fire that she had been trying to get legal custody of him and that a court date on the case had been scheduled for March 3. She said Cree had been staying at a Turtle Mountain Child Welfare and Family Services youth shelter for about a year.

She was infuriated. “My nephew Mason has been missing since February 20, and not one single member of our family was notified,” she said over Facebook Messenger. “We didn’t get a phone call. We didn’t get a visit. We found out through a Facebook post. That is unacceptable.”

After seeing the post about Cree by an MMIP group, Gourneau said she reached out to Cree’s caseworker multiple times but did not hear back from her. Several family members also frantically made calls and sent texts to the caseworker, according to Gourneau, who says the caseworker replied to one of Cree’s siblings saying that Cree had jumped out a window to escape the youth shelter.

Turtle Mountain Child and Family Services referred Buffalo’s Fire to Cree’s caseworker, Lori St. Claire. St. Claire said she could not comment on the specifics of the situation, but she did confirm that Turtle Mountain Child Welfare and Family Services notified law enforcement that Cree had run away while under their care.

She also said the parents and police were both notified, a claim that Gourneau disputes.

Buffalo’s Fire messaged Cree’s father, who did not reply by press time. Cree’s mother could not be reached.

Cree’s grandmother has also expressed frustration about a lack of communication from authorities. “My grandson is still missing!” she posted on Facebook. “No information from Police or CPS as to his whereabouts or if they have found him.”

On March 2, one of Cree’s sisters posted, “I've been getting a lot of questions on my brother asking if he has been found. And the answer is NO He hasn't been found. I still havent been contacted by cps. Nor has my aunt, or my grandmother.”

In addition to being frustrated about not being contacted by authorities, Gourneau said she is also upset that some of her nephew’s biographical information, including his age, is incorrect in his missing persons report.

The North Dakota Attorney General’s Office lists Cree as 17. Gourneau said he is 16. She said authorities also misidentified Cree’s height, eye color and hair color.

“His height was wrong. His age was wrong. The picture wasn’t even updated,” Gourneau said. “How are you going to ask the public for help finding a child when you can’t even provide accurate details about him?”

Gourneau said she got a call from the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Feb. 25, five days after Cree was last seen. The agent had just learned that Cree was missing and was “really worried about finding him,” Gourneau said. She provided the agent with the correct biographical information. Days later, she checked the attorney general’s missing persons page again and saw that it hadn’t been updated.

An agent with the Turtle Mountain BIA told Buffalo’s Fire he can not give out information relating to the case. The BIA media contact did not respond to questions about whether the bureau is working with the family to update information about Cree.

The family posted an updated flyer with the correct information.

“This is a child. This is our family. He is loved. He matters. And the lack of communication and care shown in this situation is beyond frustrating,” Gourneau said. “We deserve answers. We deserve transparency. And most importantly, Mason deserves to be found and brought home safely.”