Missing Since: 1994-05-21 Location: None, Arizona
Rivers was last seen working on building a Native American spiritual center in Wet Camp Village, Arizona, on the Gila River Indian Reservation, on May 21, 1994. He was working with another man, Fred Joe Walking Badger. A photo of Walking Badger is posted with this case summary. He was also a Gila River Indian and noted for his political activism and advocacy for Native American rights. Most recently he had been making efforts to limit crop-dusting on the reservation. Rivers’s fiancee stated Rivers had known Walking Badger for about three months and greatly admired him. Walking Badger’s wife and Rivers’s fiancee went home to make sandwiches, expecting the men to be there in an hour. They never came home; both men disappeared that day, along with a turquoise 1993 Pontiac Grand Am with the Texas license plate number 5D7-326. A month later, the Pontiac was found abandoned and burned in the Gila River area. In December 1999, five and a half years later, Walking Badger’s remains were discovered and identified through dental records. Rivers remains missing, however. His disappearance, and Walking Badger’s death, remain unsolved. Investigating Agency Bureau of Indian Affairs - Office of Justice Services 602-379-6600 Source Information NamUs Fox 10 Phoenix The Arizona Republic Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004. Last updated July 15, 2024; casefile added.