Franklin Joeseph Little Bear, 18, of Mobridge, South Dakota, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, was last seen in Mobridge on August 1, 1980. Witnesses reported that Little Bear boarded a bus, believed to be a Greyhound bus, at the Main Street bus depot in Mobridge together with a female companion, bound for Minneapolis, Minnesota. Family members were later told that Little Bear continued on to Chicago, Illinois after reaching Minneapolis. At the time of his disappearance, Little Bear was described as approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall and 160 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes; some records list a broader range of 5 feet 4 inches to 5 feet 8 inches and 150 to 200 pounds. No clothing description or personal effects from the day he went missing have been published. Sometime between 1983 and 1984, a relative reported hearing from Little Bear by phone or letter; Little Bear reportedly said he wanted to check on his family and that he loved them. The relative who received that contact has since died, and no independent confirmation of it, nor any contact since, has been documented. Little Bear has not been seen or heard from since 1980.
The case is investigated by the South Dakota Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services Missing and Murdered Unit. No searches, forensic findings, or named persons of interest have been publicly documented. Little Bear's case remains open, and he continues to be listed as an active missing person; an age-progressed image depicting him at approximately 61 years old has been released alongside a childhood photograph, as no more recent photograph is known to exist. His case is catalogued as NamUs #MP103114 and NCMEC #1471895, with Bureau of Indian Affairs reference case #BO23022352. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services Missing and Murdered Unit at 1-833-560-2065, by text to 847411, or by email at ojs_mmu@bia.gov.
