Ashley mariah Loring heavyrunner

Ashley Loring HeavyRunner was 20 years old when she disappeared from the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Browning, Montana, in June 2017. On June 5, 2017, Ashley visited her parents’ home and was later spotted at a party.

When no one had heard from Ashley in the following days, family members initially thought she may have lost or broken her phone, which wasn’t uncommon for her. However, when their father was hospitalized and they were unable to reach her, suspicions grew into panic. The family learned that no one had seen her since the party on June 5.

Ashley was reported missing to tribal police and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in late June 2017. Family members say the case received little sustained investigative attention at first and was treated as a voluntary disappearance. The search was further complicated by underfunding within the Blackfeet Tribe. With just 17 tribal officers responsible for policing a 1.5 million-acre reservation, resources were stretched thin. The FBI joined the investigation at the BIA’s request in February 2018.

Cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous persons are frequently affected by jurisdictional gaps and limited resources. Native Americans experience higher rates of violent crime than any other racial group in the United States, and many investigations remain unresolved. Advocates note that overlapping jurisdictions and underfunded tribal services can delay or stall responses, often leaving families to lead searches and keep cases alive. Ashley’s sister, Kimberly, has organized and participated in countless searches for her sister, taking on this responsibility to ensure Ashley’s case isn’t forgotten.

Ashley had been studying environmental science at Blackfeet Community College and was planning to move to Missoula to live with her sister and attend the University of Montana. Her sister Kimberly revealed that Ashley was pregnant at the time of her disappearance and described the baby’s father as a good man and friend. Kimberly has voiced suspicions that a family member may have been involved. She describes life since Ashley’s disappearance as an unending cycle of grief.

Ashley’s mother describes her as someone who was “full of life” and always willing to help others. She says that Ashley is smart and athletic, and that she loved horses and the rain.

Ashley’s father, Roy Lee HeavyRunner, had been tortured by the unknown details of what may have happened to his daughter until he passed away in 2020. “I fear she suffered something painful. Agonizing. Horrible. My little girl. Whoever had a hand in her disappearance is likely still on the reservation…someone I see every day.”

A tip was received a couple of weeks after Ashley went missing about a young woman seen running from a vehicle on U.S. Highway 89 on the reservation on the night Ashley was last seen. A three-day search was conducted in the area, and a pair of red-stained boots and a tattered sweater were recovered on the northern edge of the reservation. Ashley’s family is confident that the boots and sweater belong to her, and an eyewitness also confirmed that Ashley had been wearing the sweater on the night she disappeared. The items were turned over to law enforcement.

The location where the sweater and boots were found is not far from a lake house owned by Sam McDonald, who reported that he was with Ashley for several days after the June 5 party. 

Kimberly says that Ashley struggled following the loss of her grandfather and a difficult breakup, and that drug use became a part of her life during that time. Ashley began associating with an older social circle that included McDonald. McDonald, who was in his 50s at the time, told “Nightline” that he partied with Ashley and that he has been battling addiction for years.

According to McDonald, he drove Ashley to a roadside pull-off to meet someone named Paul Valenzuela aka “V-Dog” on June 11, 2017. McDonald says that he had been awake for days, so when they arrived at the pull-off he leaned his seat back and fell asleep. According to McDonald, when he woke up, Ashley wasn’t there and he assumed that Valenzuela must have picked her up.

Ashley’s family says she had been romantically involved with Valenzuela prior to her disappearance. Her family reports that Valenzuela was also still in a troubled marriage with Tashina Running Crane aka Tee Eastwood at the time, and that he filed for divorce about a month after Ashley vanished. Tee also happens to be Ashley’s cousin.

According to Tee, she did not know about the relationship between Paul and Ashley until after Ashley vanished. Tee claims that she and Paul were in Seattle at the time of her disappearance. While court records show that Valenzuela was in the Seattle area in early June 2017, a corrections officer reported to a superior court judge that on June 9, 2017, Valenzuela said he planned to return to the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana to retrieve his possessions, just two days before McDonald alleges that Ashley was picked up by Valenzuela.

The following statements reflect claims and counterclaims made by individuals connected to the case and have not resulted in criminal charges.

Kimberly texted both Tee and Valenzuela shortly after Ashley went missing. She showed these conversations to ABC News. A message from Tee stated that “Paul has her.” A message from Valenzuela said, “Tashina is giving you false info. Ask her she prolly [sic] knows more than she’s saying.”

In September 2017, a YouTube video entitled “Set up” was posted by user Tee Eastwood. Tee can be heard saying, “Basically, he has Ashley, and everybody in this town knows it. Paul is trying to set me up.” The video was later deleted.

Tee agreed to meet with “Nightline” ABC News for an interview in the fall of 2017. During the interview, she received a call from Valenzuela, who was serving prison time for an illegal firearms conviction at the time. When Tee told Valenzuela that ABC News would like to talk to him, he immediately ended the call.

Tee was asked about Paul’s text messages to Kimberly and if she was hiding anything about Paul. She responded, “I don’t know. No. I told you guys everything. I didn’t even think he would say anything like that about me. I thought he was helping me on this. That’s horrible.” She ended the interview soon after.

Valenzuela later contacted “Nightline,” claiming he would bring them to who “did all this to Ashley. Trust me I am the only one who can.” He said he would only talk if he could be transferred to Montana. Since that is not something that the news outlet could or would do, he refused to be interviewed.

Valenzuela, now 57 years old, has prior convictions that include burglary and weapons offenses. He is currently serving three years in prison after pleading guilty to the illegal possession of ammunition and assaulting a man with a baseball bat, causing serious injuries, including multiple fractures. Valenzuela had also been charged with threatening a federal agent and a separate assault charge, but those charges were dropped following a plea agreement.

No charges have ever been filed related to Ashley’s disappearance and the case remains open.

Name: Ashley Mariah Loring HeavyRunner

Race/Sex: Native American Female

Current Age: 29

Date of Birth: November 23, 1996

Height/Weight: 5 ft 2 in | 90 lbs

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Brown

Clothing: T-shirt and jeans

Scars: Checkmark-shaped scar on top of one of her hands

Blackfeet Tribal Law Enforcement Agency

• Case Number: 17-060875
• Lt. Josh Bird: 406-338-4000

FBI

• Agent James Eagle Eye

NamUs: #MP40815

How to Submit a Tip

• FBI Salt Lake City: 801-579-1400
• Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services: 406-338-4000

FBI Wanted Poster: Ashley Loring Heavyrunner
https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/ashley-loring-heavyrunner

NBC Montana: Vanished in Montana: Ashley Heavyrunner’s family without closure nearly eight years later
https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/vanished-in-montana-ashley-heavyrunners-family-without-closure-nearly-8-years-later

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA): Missing and Murdered Cases – Ashley Loring Heavyrunner

https://www.bia.gov/missing-murdered-cases/ashley-loring-heavy-runner

NamUs: Missing Person Case #40815
https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/40815

People Magazine: Indigenous Woman Ashley Loring Heavyrunner Vanished in 2017
https://people.com/crime/ashley-loring-heavyrunner-indigenous-woman-vanished-2017/

The Guardian: A young woman vanishes. The police can’t help. Her desperate family won’t give up.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/25/a-young-woman-vanishes-the-police-cant-help-her-desperate-family-wont-give-up

A&E: Ashley Loring Heavyrunner Case Overview
https://www.aetv.com/articles/ashley-loring

NBC News / Dateline: Family and friends hold annual walk for Ashley Loring Heavyrunner
https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/family-friends-hold-annual-walk-ashley-loring-heavyrunner-raising-awareness-n1270579

ABC News: No answers years after 20-year-old student vanishes amid epidemic
https://abcnews.go.com/US/answers-years-20-year-student-vanishes-case-epidemic/story?id=65344265

The Electric GF: Valenzuela sentenced for assaulting man with baseball bat; threat charge dropped
https://theelectricgf.com/2024/06/26/valenzuela-sentenced-for-assaulting-man-with-baseball-bat-charge-of-threatening-law-enforcement-dropped/

U.S. Department of Justice: Great Falls man sentenced to three years for assault on Blackfeet Indian Reservation
https://www.justice.gov/usao-mt/pr/great-falls-man-sentenced-three-years-assaulting-man-blackfeet-indian-reservation

Federal Court Records: United States v. Valenzuela (Sentencing Documents)
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-mtd-4_23-cr-00085/pdf/USCOURTS-mtd-4_23-cr-00085-0.pdf

KRTV:Suspect arrested by FBI in Great Falls identified
https://www.krtv.com/news/crime-and-courts/suspect-arrested-by-fbi-in-great-falls-has-been-identified