Officials searching for woman missing from Meskwaki Settlement

TAMA COUNTY - Searchers spent another evening Tuesday looking for a woman first reported missing last month.

41-year-old Rita Papakee was last seen at the Meskwaki Casino at around 1 p.m. Jan. 16. She was reported missing by family members Feb. 18.

Thirty-eight of Papakee's family and friends spent an hour Tuesday, from 4:30 p.m. to nightfall, searching a wooded area near the Meskwaki Powwow grounds looking for any sign of Papakee. A larger group searched the area Monday night.

Family said the Tama County woman lives with her daughter. Her cousin, Noelle Youngbear, said Papakee left home more than a month ago and disappeared without a trace.

'We didn't hear anything,” Youngbear said. 'The family started getting worried because usually we'll hear from her by now. Nothing.”

Family members say Papakee could be in the Cedar Rapids or Des Moines areas.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Meskwaki Nation Police Department at 641-484-3760.