Arden Pepion: The Last Contact and a Community’s Search
Dated records and family accounts preserve different parts of the search history.
Abstract
NamUs MP82195 records April 22, 2021 for Arden Pepion, with a reported last-seen area on the Blackfeet Reservation.1
The Initial Record
NamUs places the reported observation at about 7 p.m. near Joe Show East off U.S. Highway 89 South, under agency case 210423-01045.1
That locates a reported contact in an area. It does not establish her subsequent movements or a complete sequence of observations.1
The Next Day’s Appeal
The Blackfeet Tribe’s April 23, 2021 release describes a search for a three-year-old and attributes its last-seen description to Blackfeet Law Enforcement’s public account.2
It names tribal, local and county officials and volunteers among the search participants. The release documents the response then underway; it is not a complete search log.2
Families and Community
NCMEC’s April 2026 feature quotes Diana Burd about joining the early search and dates Holding Hope SAR’s founding to July 2021. It also quotes Arden’s father, Aaron, about continuing to search.3
In Montana Free Press’s August 7, 2026 newsletter, Nora Mabie recounts speaking with Arden’s aunt Asiah and grandmother at search-and-recovery training. Asiah recalls difficulty organizing the early family search.4
Her recollection records a family perspective on the response. A complete operational record was not inspected, and the account should retain its speaker and interview context.4
Sourced Accounts and Questions
Here’s where you come in. Can you identify the original observer and timing behind the April 22 public last-seen description?1,2
Can you connect the family’s recollection to dated search records and areas actually covered?4
Keep the source, speaker, event date and open question together in a Research File in Almost Solved. Record what a source supports before connecting events.
Show later developments and reported outcomes
The 2026 Search Update
Halley Gillespie’s August 18 NCMEC update describes an August 7–8, 2026 search near the Two Medicine River. It reports a search effort without establishing Arden’s fate.3
The earlier feature announced a planned July effort; the August account reports an operation. Those entries should retain their separate dates.3
The feature also describes footprints believed to be Arden’s and a boot. Original recovery and identification records were not inspected.3
Can you obtain the operation and evidence records before extending the timeline?3
Scope and Method
Original witness statements, search logs and physical-evidence records were not inspected.
Prepared with AI assistance. Sources and references checked against the cited public materials. This paper is an original synthesis of the identified public sources; it does not reproduce article bodies, transcripts, or an investigative file.
Footnote References
- NamUs MP82195; reviewed November 3, 2026.
- Blackfeet Tribe, press release, April 23, 2021.
- Halley Gillespie, NCMEC feature and update, April 16 and August 18, 2026.
- Nora Mabie, Montana Free Press newsletter, August 7, 2026.