Overview
- Community members gathered in Scottsdale to honor Passion Schurz, 28, a mother from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community who was found dead in a canal.
- Police said there were no visible signs of trauma such as fractures, stab wounds, or gunshot injuries, and the medical examiner is still determining the cause and manner of death.
- Investigators identified Schurz by her tattoos, physical traits, and clothing, and they said a full autopsy with toxicology will take several weeks.
- Schurz was last seen at her home on March 19 and was reported missing three days later, according to reports from local outlets.
- Salt River police said her case did not meet the criteria for a Turquoise Alert, which Arizona uses to notify the public about endangered missing people, while advocates cited her leaving home without her wallet and purse and pointed to a wider crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people in the state.