James Redhouse Missing Person Case

Feb 12, 2024

Feb 12, 2024

James

Redhouse

71

43

68 inches

69 inches

180 lbs

190 lbs

American Indian / Alaska Native

Male

In the vast landscape of the Navajo Nation, the story of James Elmer Redhouse's disappearance is one of quiet uncertainty and lingering questions. On January 17, 1998, in Teec Nos Pos, Arizona, 43-year-old James was at home with his brother. In a seemingly ordinary moment, he walked out the door and into the winter day, never to return. His brother reported his absence, noting that James had a history of leaving for periods of time, but this time was different; the days turned into weeks, and the weeks have since stretched into decades. Redhouse, a U.S. Veteran and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was a man with black hair and brown eyes, standing between 5'8" and 5'9" and weighing around 180 to 190 pounds at the time he went missing. The circumstances surrounding James's departure from his home are sparse, leaving his family and investigators with very little to go on. He was last seen approximately six miles southwest of the Teec Nos Pos Trading Post. It has been noted that Redhouse was known to struggle with alcohol, a detail that adds a layer of vulnerability to his case. The passage of time has not been kind to the investigation; few details were available at the outset, and even fewer have emerged in the years since. The only photograph his family was able to provide to law enforcement is the one that now circulates on missing person flyers, a frozen moment in time from before his disappearance. This lack of information has made the search for answers incredibly challenging, a common and heartbreaking theme in many missing persons cases within Indigenous communities. The case of James Redhouse is an active missing person investigation, his name entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). The Navajo Police Department's Tuba City District continues to ask for the public's help, urging anyone with any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward. The central facts remain unchanged: a man walked away from his home and vanished. There was no sign of foul play, no note left behind, just an open door and an absence that has been deeply felt by his loved ones. The overview of this case is one of profound and enduring ambiguity, a testament to the silent crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people and the deep need for answers and resolution for families like the Redhouses.

Jan 17, 1998

Teec Nos Pos

Arizona

Apache County

86514

Yes

136118

Navajo Nation Police Department - Tuba City District

Tuba City

Arizona

Coconino County

86045

240 Main Street, Arizona

9282833111

Tribal

Law Enforcement

04-23-023490

2023-11-07

Navajo Nation Police Department - Tuba City District

Black

Brown

Brown

08/03/2026