8-year-old Monica Lynn Still Smoking, a member of the Blackfeet Nation, was taken from outside her school in Browning, Montana, on December 17, 1979. Her body was found by her family two weeks later, on December 31, 1979. The case has never been solved and remains open to this day.
On that December day, Monica was outside Napi Elementary School when she disappeared. Some of her classmates said she might have gotten into a car they didn’t recognize. Her family searched everywhere for her. After 15 days, a hunter found a boot, and her uncle Donny later found Monica’s body during a search in Glacier National Park, about 14 miles away from Browning. It was 2 p.m. when they found her, frozen in the snow and still wearing the same clothes she wore the day she vanished. Because of the long distance, it’s unlikely Monica walked there by herself. The cause of death was exposure to cold. No injuries were found on her body. People believe the FBI did not handle her case properly and only investigated for about three weeks.
In a newspaper article, Monica’s mother, Melba Wells, said that someone saw Monica fall in the school hallway the day she disappeared. A teacher, whose name was never shared, carried her to the eastern entrance of the school. It’s not clear if this is connected to her disappearance. Melba also shared that no staff from the school attended Monica’s funeral.
Monica was born on June 2, 1972, in Montana. Her family remembers her dearly and is still hoping to find out what really happened to her. Her cousins, who are now advocates for missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP), grew up hearing about Monica. They remember that she had one green eye and one brown eye. Monica was deaf in one ear but didn’t use a hearing aid. She was known as an honest child who loved going to church and helping take care of her grandmother.
If you know anything about Monica Still Smoking’s kidnapping or death, please call the Montana FBI field office at 801-579-1400. Even small details can help.
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