Mesa park installs permanent memorial for slain 14-year-old Emily Pike

PHOENIX — City officials teamed up with tribal leaders and community members to commemorate a permanent memorial to slain teen Emily Pike in Mesa on Monday.

The permanent memorial installation is up at Fitch Park near Center and Eighth streets.

The tribute includes a granite plaque with Emily’s photo, an engraved memorial bench and a newly planted Red Push Pistache tree.

The new memorial symbolizes Emily’s childhood connection to the park.

Since Emily frequently played at Fitch Park, it will serve as a designated area for reflection and remembrance. However, the public is asked not to leave memorial items at the park.

Additionally, the community is encouraged to organize future days of remembrance for Emily at Fitch Park, provided they follow the proper city requests and permits.

New Emily Pike memorial replaces previous one, which will be dismantled

This is the replacement for a temporary memorial placed at Mesa Drive and McKellips Road.

Her family will dismantle that temporary memorial and transport it to an additional memorial for Emily in San Carlos.

Pike’s family is also working with the Arizona Department of Transportation to establish a memorial at mile marker 277 on US 60 near Globe, the area where her body was found in February 2025.

Emily Pike memorial honors girl whose life and death had lasting legacy

Emily was a 14‑year‑old member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe who fled from a Mesa group home last year. She was reported missing on Jan. 27, 2025, and the Mesa Police Department issued a missing/runaway juvenile bulletin two days later.

A month after her disappearance, her remains were discovered near Globe and the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, roughly 80 miles east of the group home. Authorities opened a homicide investigation, but no arrests have been made and investigators have not publicly identified any suspects.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the San Carlos Apache Tribe are each offering a $75,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Emily is the namesake of “Emily’s Law,” which Gov. Katie Hobbs signed last May. The law created a “Turquoise Alert” system to issue specialized alerts when an endangered person under 65 goes missing in Arizona.

Following her death, the Department of Child Safety committed to several reforms, including improving communication with tribal governments and strengthening coordination between DCS and law enforcement when children run away from group homes.

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