There has been a recent development in the case of Kayla Gaebel, a 28-year-old woman from Shakopee, Minnesota, who vanished on November 9, 2023. Her last known location was behind the wheel of a white Ford Explorer, bearing the license plate NKT-967. Both the local community and authorities are working tirelessly to locate her, with an appeal for public assistance being issued.
Kayla’s disappearance has seen a wave of support from the community rallying around her loved ones. However, the lack of progress in the investigation has also stirred feelings of frustration and demands for more action from both the media and authorities. Kayla, a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, has become another statistic in the alarming number of missing Native American women in the U.S., a group that, according to the National Crime Information Center, accounted for 1.8% of missing persons cases in 2020, despite making up just 0.8% of the population.
Despite the community’s concerted efforts, there have been no significant breakthroughs in Kayla’s case as of November 10, 2023. The Shakopee Police Department remains tight-lipped about any potential leads, motives, or evidence connected to her disappearance. The department’s main message to the public is to get in touch immediately if they have any information on Kayla or her vehicle.
Social media has become a vital tool in the search, with Kayla’s family and friends turning to these platforms to raise awareness and appeal for help. They have shared images and videos of Kayla, as well as messages of hope and love, and even organized a search party to comb through areas she may have visited.
Kayla’s sister and best friend, Mikayla Clark, took to Facebook with an emotional plea: “Praying for my beautiful best friend/sister, Kayla Gaebel. If anyone has heard from her or seen her, please reach out to me, her fiancé, or any of her family members.”
Kayla’s disappearance remains shrouded in mystery. By all accounts, she was a vibrant, happy individual who was looking forward to her future. She was engaged and had a steady job as a dental assistant. There were no known issues or conflicts that could have led to her disappearance.
On the evening of her disappearance, Kayla left her home around 9 p.m., telling her fiancé she was going out for dinner with a friend and would return shortly. But she never came back, and all attempts to contact her since have been unsuccessful. The last signal from her phone was near Prior Lake, approximately 10 miles from Shakopee, at around 10 p.m. that night.
There has been no sign of Kayla or her vehicle since, and the police have not disclosed if they have any leads or theories about her disappearance. The case is currently being treated as a high-priority missing person investigation.
Kayla’s case has sparked discussion about the possibility of racial or background bias affecting the attention it receives. Some have also highlighted that her disappearance is part of a broader issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) in the U.S. and Canada. The Urban Indian Health Institute reported 506 cases of MMIW across 71 urban areas in the U.S. in 2016, but only 116 were recorded in the Department of Justice’s database.
