FORT TOTTEN, N.D. — The Spirit Lake Tribe is urgently continuing search efforts for Danica “Tynee” White, a 20-year-old tribal member who was last heard from on Saturday, Nov. 1 at approximately 6 a.m. Her last known location was established through a 911 call in which she indicated she needed assistance, prompting an immediate response from local authorities. According to the press release issued by the Tribe, Danica (pronounced da-NEE-kuh) was last seen near BIA 25, wearing black pants, a black sweater, and gray/white shoes.
A press conference was held by Spirit Lake Tribe Public Relations Specialist Vicki Alberts on Monday, Nov. 3 at 5 p.m. at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, otherwise known as the Blue Building in Fort Totten. Alberts is also the public information officer for the Incident Command Team and Emergency Response. Spirit Lake Fire Chief and Incident Commander Joseph “JJ” Jetty and Spirit Lake Tribe Chairwoman Lonna Jackson-Street were originally scheduled for the press conference but were not present. The Spirit Lake Incident Command Team is leading the search, supported by multiple local, state, and federal agencies, including Spirit Lake Fire Department, Spirit Lake EMS, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Police Department, BIA Missing and Murdered Unit, North Dakota Highway Patrol, Lake Region Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Team, Lake Region Search and Rescue, Bismarck Mounted Police, Benson County Sheriff’s Office, FBI and Civil Air Patrol. Alberts reiterated from the earlier press release that search teams “have been working tirelessly since Saturday morning and … over 6,000 acres have been covered through the coordinated ground, air and water operations.”
Additional resources from Turtle Mountain Search and Rescue and the MHA Emergency Operations Center are also reported to be involved in the search.
In the press release, Jetty expressed gratitude for the collective efforts in the ongoing search for White. “We’ve exercised a lot of resources and demonstrated multi-jurisdictional collaboration. We are deeply thankful to everyone involved,” he stated.
In the same press release, parents Tristan Longie and Daylon White, Sr. appealed to the community for any information to help locate their daughter. “If anyone has any information, please speak up,” they urged.
Jackson-Street also expressed the Tribe’s commitment to Danica White’s safe return and acknowledged the ongoing community support. “You never plan on a missing person, and this is the third tribal member to have gone missing,” she said. “Danica is only 20 years old—just beginning her adult life. This unprecedented response demonstrates our community’s strength and the dedication of our Incident Command Team and partner agencies. We ask that everyone keep Danica’s family in their thoughts and prayers.”
Alberts added at the press conference, “The chairwoman (Jackson-Street) would also like to thank the Spirit Lake Employment and Training Program, which continues to provide food and a gathering space for family during this difficult time. As far as the public goes, to our community: we ask that the public please stay clear of active search zones so our trained responders can work safely and efficiently.”
Alberts then provided time for some of Danica White’s family to “provide a little more insight for us to who Danica is as a person, because we often know that … as a people, we go missing at a higher rate, and we tend to forget who this person is once they get that label ‘missing.’”
Described as quiet and caring, White had celebrated her 20th birthday on Halloween by taking her younger relatives trick-or-treating. She is currently employed at the McDonald’s restaurant in Devils Lake and is one of the two oldest daughters in her family.
“So Danica is not just a missing person, she’s a daughter, she’s a sister, and she is a niece, a granddaughter,” Alberts said before allowing White’s relatives to share their own memories of the young woman, starting with her uncle, Dallas Welch.
“We all grew up in the same household,” Welch said. “Maybe 10 years older than them. … When I was around, they were still young.”
Welch added that after leaving for a time and then returning, White and her siblings were no longer kids but had grown into adults. “So I may not be the best to explain who she was after I came back,” he said. “I just know that … any time I needed help, she was always there.”
Danica White’s uncle Kyle White and her sister Taryn White next came forward to share their stories. “I always remember when she was born,” Kyle said. “She was just really friendly. She worked at McDonald’s and every time I went there, she’d always tease me about all the meals I bought and she’d always offered to give me her discount to help me out, you know, and she’d always joke around with me.”
“It’s kind of hard right now to be really be speaking,” Kyle said, fighting back tears. “I’m usually not an emotional guy. She’s out there, and we will find her. To ‘Nica, we will find you. I promise you, we will find you. … Again, I just want to thank everybody for all their prayers, and ask everybody to keep praying. To keep us in your prayer, to keep all the searchers in your prayers.”
Crying and comforted by her uncle Kyle, Taryn talked of how her sister had taken her young son out for Halloween the night before she went missing and then said, “She was always having fun and always joking. … I just want my sister.”
A Feather Alert for White had been issued. However, there were challenges in the system’s dissemination during this recent case. “We have confirmed through our community that it was not received in the proper and coordinated way; some people did receive it,” Alberts said at the press conference. “However, there was no sound associated with it, as would be issued with the Amber Alert of a Silver Alert, and many of us did not receive it at all.”
Alberts added that the Tribe is working closely with legislative representatives, the North Dakota Highway Patrol, as well as the Hyper-Reach system utilized through the Lake Region Law Enforcement Center Dispatch to try to fix the issue and determine why it occurred. There are also plans to implement a local text alert system to strengthen future emergency communications.
After it was introduced and passed earlier this year in the 2025 North Dakota Legislature, the Feather Alert launched on Aug. 1. The new emergency system sends out urgent messages to the public to help locate Indigenous adults who have either been abducted or believed to be at imminent risk of serious bodily injury or death.
The Spirit Lake Tribe said in an earlier press release that, as of April 2025, according to the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office, there are currently 14 Native individuals reported missing in the state. Five of those cases emerged during the six weeks since Renzo Bullhead disappeared in Bismarck a month earlier, highlighting a broader crisis. Meanwhile, the Tribe is continuing its efforts to locate White as well as other members, Isaac Hunt and Jemini Posey, who went missing in 2024, Posey in January and Hunt in March of that year.
Community members are encouraged to share information and support the family during this challenging time, as search efforts continue. Updates are being posted on the Spirit Lake Nation’s Facebook page. Anyone with information regarding Danica White’s whereabouts is urged to immediately contact the Fort Totten Police Department at 701-766-4231.
