Pernell Lloyd Tewangoitewa was 21 when he disappeared after a night at Gator’s Bar & Grill in Farmington, New Mexico. On the morning of May 29, 1998, he left the bar around 1:30 a.m. driving his sister’s 1988 Pontiac Subaru station wagon; witnesses saw him head east on Main Street alone and he was never seen again. Pernell, of Navajo and Hopi descent, lived in Bloomfield with his sister and was studying cosmetology while working as a bouncer.

Three weeks later, on June 18, the burned station wagon was found in a dry river wash in Choke Cherry Canyon about five miles northwest of Farmington. The fire was ruled arson and no trace of Pernell was located. The Farmington Police Department filed a missing person report on June 20. His family says the vehicle was reportedly junked in 2000 without full forensic processing, and they have raised concerns about the initial handling of the case. Authorities now consider Pernell a likely homicide victim; no arrests have been announced.

Did anyone in the Farmington or Bloomfield area see Pernell or his sister’s station wagon on the night of May 29, 1998?