Nika Bartoo-Smith
Underscore Native News+ ICT

EUGENE, Oregon — Family, friends and community members came together on March 27 at Skinner Butte Park to share Manuel Bayya’s name four years after he first went missing. 

Manuel Bayya, a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, went missing on March 7, 2022. His family and friends have been asking for answers ever since. 

“We’re out here saying my brother Manuel Bayya’s name so people don’t forget and hopefully someone comes forward with information on his disappearance,” said Lacy Murillo, Manuel Bayya’s sister. 

A sign displaying Manuel Bayya’s name is held in front of the Lane County Sheriff’s Department on March 27, 2026. Bayya, a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians went missing four years ago. (Nika Bartoo-Smith/Underscore Native News + ICT)

Those that met at Skinner Butte Park passed out signs and painted red handprints on each other’s faces to honor those that are missing or who have been murdered. 

Following a prayer led by Buzz Barry, a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and Manuel Bayya’s uncle, the group walked half a mile to the Lane County Sheriff’s Department. Along the way, they were greeted with honks of encouragement and support from passing cars.

“We’re rallying for particularly my dad, but [also] just Missing and Murdered Indigenous People everywhere and trying to raise awareness for them,” said Shaā Bayya, a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Manuel Bayya’s 25-year-old daughter.

From left, Shaā Bayya, a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Manuel Bayya’s 25-year-old daughter; and Nicole Cotto, a friend of Manuel Bayya’s, hold signs displaying statistics about the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People across Turtle Island. They held the signs while marching to Lane County Sheriff’s Department on March 27, 2026, bringing attention to Manuel Bayya, a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians who has been missing for four years. (Nika Bartoo-Smith/Underscore Native News + ICT)

One of Bayya’s favorite childhood memories with her dad was at her aunt’s house, catching snakes and shooting off fireworks. 

Wearing a shirt with her dad’s portrait, she carried a sign with a statistic that said how 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaska Native women experience violence in their lifetime. 

“Considering that we’re the first peoples of this nation, we’re the most underrepresented in the nation, and the fact that this is still going on is just [explicit] crazy,” Bayya said. “The fact that women and men just go missing with no answers all the time statistically higher than like every other demographic in the nation is crazy.”

Once at the Lane County Sheriff’s Department in downtown Eugene, those that marched from Skinner Butte Park were met by a few other community members, joining the rally.

For those gathered, the point of the rally was bringing attention to Manuel Bayya’s case.

“I’ve actually seen it move cases forward, just a rally like this, [by] encouraging law enforcement a little bit and calling them and asking them if they’re working on it, how’s it going? And that you appreciate their work,” said Tracy Molina, a longtime friend of Manuel Bayya. Molina grew up in Siletz and has ancestry from central Mexico. “So we have seen it be successful.”

In front of the sheriff’s department, more than two dozen people gathered together in the square out front. A few people raised their handdrums and began to offer a song, as others joined in singing. 

From left, Buzz Barry, a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and Manuel Bayya’s uncle; and Sissy Rilatos, a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and Manuel Bayya’s stepsister, hold signs while marching to the Lane County Sheriff’s Department to raise awareness for Bayya who has been missing for four years. (Nika Bartoo-Smith/Underscore Native News + ICT)
Over two dozen community members gathered in front of the Lane County Sheriff’s Department in Eugene, Oregon on March 27, 2026 to raise awareness about Manuel Bayya, a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians who has been missing for four years. (Nika Bartoo-Smith/Underscore Native News + ICT)

Amanda Freeman, a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and founder of Ampkwa Advocacy, thanked everyone for gathering and spoke to the importance of community support when a loved one goes missing. She highlighted how Manuel Bayya’s case is one of so many across Turtle Island, particularly Oregon, which is behind in legislation for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, she said. 

For Sissy Rilatos, a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and Manuel Bayya’s stepsister, his case is part of a bigger pattern of Siletz tribal members, and men specifically, going missing. 

Lacy Murillo, Manuel Bayya’s sister, poured water from the Siletz River around a tree in front of the Lane County Sheriff’s Department in Eugene, Oregon on March 27, 2026. As she pours the water from her brother’s favorite river, she thought about bringing him home as Bayya, a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, has been missing for four years. (Nika Bartoo-Smith/Underscore Native News + ICT)

“I feel like there’s a lot of really great leads, and there’s information that’s been given to the authorities that aren’t being followed up on. And I just, for the life of me, can’t understand why it’s not being taken seriously,” Rilatos said. “And I just feel like it has to do with stigma, and it has to do with racism. And I also just feel like the stories and the people that go missing from my reservation in Siletz, they never get solved.”

Gathered in the square, people came together in support of one another, and shared favorite memories of Manuel Bayya, remembering his laughter and smiles that lit up a room.

To close out the rally, Murillo brought a jug of water, sourced at the Siletz River, to a tree outside the Sheriff’s Department. The Siletz River was one of Manuel Bayya’s favorite places to spend his time. As Murillo poured the water in a circle around the tree, she thought about her brother and her hope to bring him home. 

“I just know that there’s someone out there that knows what happened and knows where he’s at,” Murillo said. “I’m not worried about justice, I just want to bring my brother home in whatever way that means.”

This story is co-published by Underscore Native News and ICT, a news partnership that covers Indigenous communities in the Pacific Northwest.

Nika Bartoo-Smith is a reporter at Underscore + ICT. Follow her on Twitter: @BartooNika. Osage and Oneida Nations descent, Bartoo-Smith is based in Portland, Oregon.