Laverda Sorrell Missing Person Case

Aug 16, 2019

Mar 18, 2024

Laverda

Sorrell

68

44

61 inches

110 lbs

American Indian / Alaska Native

Female

On the Fourth of July in 2002, a day of celebration for many, 44-year-old Laverda Sorrell, a member of the Navajo Nation, vanished from Fort Defiance, Arizona. Residing in Navajo, New Mexico, she was a mother to three children who was described by her family as compassionate, selfless, and the glue that held them together. According to her husband, the last person to have reportedly seen her, he dropped her off at her workplace, the Window Rock School District #8 office, at approximately 11:30 p.m. This was said to have occurred after they had dinner in Gallup, New Mexico, to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary. Laverda was never seen or heard from again. The circumstances surrounding Laverda's disappearance have been described as unusual. Her family did not believe she would have gone to her office so late on a holiday night. Four days passed before a family member officially reported her missing to the Navajo Police Department on July 8, 2002. Her loved ones stated it was entirely out of character for her to leave without contacting them. In the years following her disappearance, it emerged that Laverda had reportedly been unhappy in her marriage and had told family members that she wanted a divorce. It was also revealed that she had been seeing another man and may have planned to meet him on the evening she vanished. Decades have passed without answers, and Laverda's case has since been reclassified by the FBI from a missing person case to a homicide investigation. Her children, who were young when she disappeared, are now adults with their own families. Her parents passed away without ever learning what happened to their daughter. The FBI has offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the person or persons responsible for her disappearance. The investigation remains active, with the FBI's Albuquerque Field Office and the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety continuing to seek information from the public. The case is a heartbreaking example of the ongoing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people, leaving a void in the lives of her loved ones who continue their search for closure and justice for Laverda.

Jul 04, 2002

Fort Defiance

Arizona

Apache County

Yes

58832

Federal Bureau of Investigation - Albuquerque Field Office

Albuquerque

New Mexico

Bernalillo County

87107

4200 Lueckins Park Ave Northeast, New Mexico

5058891300

Federal

Law Enforcement

https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/albuquerque

Federal Bureau of Investigation - Albuquerque Field Office

na

Black

Brown

Brown

08/04/2026