Melvin Longie

Do you know who killed 51 year old Melvin Longie?
On the evening of May 2, 1989, a man rushed into a café near the corner of Southeast 2nd and Oak Street in Portland, Oregon, to report a body on the nearby railroad tracks. Police were dispatched to the scene at approximately 7:20 p.m. and, in the industrial quiet of the Central Eastside, discovered the victim in the 100 block of Southeast Oak Street. He was identified as Melvin Longie, a 51-year-old Native American man. An autopsy would later confirm that he had died from multiple stab wounds.

Little is publicly known about Melvin Longie's life. Genealogical records indicate he was born Melvin Vern Longie and was connected to the Spirit Lake Tribe of the Dakota Sioux, based in Fort Totten, North Dakota. How he came to be in Portland, hundreds of miles from his tribal community, and what his life was like in the city remain unanswered questions. At the time of his death, authorities knew him as a transient who had previous interactions with law enforcement for minor offenses. This transient lifestyle may have made him more vulnerable and made it more difficult for investigators to retrace his final days and hours.

The investigation into his murder was launched immediately by Portland Police Bureau homicide detectives. The area along the tracks, a gritty corridor of warehouses and industrial buildings nestled between the Willamette River and the burgeoning city, offered few immediate witnesses to the attack itself. The early days of the case, however, produced a tantalizing but ultimately frustrating lead. Detectives learned that in the days following the killing, several people had overheard a white man, estimated to be about 35 years old, stating that he had killed a man. Investigators pursued this lead, but were unable to identify the individual or substantiate the claim as a credible confession.

Without a murder weapon, forensic breakthroughs, or a suspect who could be definitively tied to the crime, the investigation stalled. The transient nature of some of the individuals who frequented the area complicated efforts to gather consistent witness statements or build a clear timeline of events leading up to the stabbing. Decades have passed, and the city of Portland has transformed around the site where Melvin Longie lost his life, but the fundamental questions of his case persist: Who killed him and why?

The case is now managed by the Portland Police Bureau's Cold Case Homicide Unit. Investigators believe that even after more than three decades, there may be people in the community who hold information about what happened that spring evening. The man who boasted of the killing may have confided in someone, or a witness who was reluctant to speak at the time may now be willing to come forward. The passage of time can change relationships and circumstances, offering new opportunities for truth and resolution.

As of 2018, Melvin Longie’s homicide remains unsolved and open. His case serves as a stark reminder of the many unsolved killings from that era in Portland and the lingering pain for families and communities left without answers. Crime Stoppers of Oregon offers a cash reward of up to $2,500 for information that leads to an arrest in any unsolved felony. Anyone with information about the murder of Melvin Longie is urged to contact the Cold Case Homicide Unit directly at (503) 823-0400 or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers.