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In memory of

Amy Lynn Hanson

Tohatchi, NM

March 12, 1989 - November 30, 2014

Mar 12, 1989 - Nov 30, 2014

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Amy Lynn Hanson was born in Albuquerque to Jerry and Berne' Hanson of Tohatchi, NM. Three months premature, Amy fought each day to breathe and overcome her early difficulties. Doctors had to operate on her periodically to stave off complications from being born too early. Amy lived through it all and was finally able to come home in June and meet her big sister, Christy, who tried to steal her bottle and learned the word "baby," and her paternal grandmother, Rose Barney Hanson, who lived just next door.

Amy had a wonderful life. She had a soft heart and a gentle soul. She wanted to be there for all who needed and wanted her. She made holidays extra fun and would do her best to make it the best day ever. She loved being the Little Sister to a Big Sister, and honored her parents.

All throughout her childhood, Amy was a friendly, family favorite, and she always had a smile on her face and a joke to share with everyone. Her kind heart and her gentle words soothed people in time of need. She played with her cousins and friends, and enjoyed movies, tag, and basketball as a kid. She loved drawing pictures of people she called "Whatzitts" with curly, high heeled boots and hooked noses, and drew caricatures of her teachers at school at home using a No. 2 pencil and drawing paper that he supplied from the living room closet. We would all laugh at her drawings and hang them up.

As a teenager, Amy hit a few rough patches, but throughout it all, her family was there for her and supported her. She proudly graduated as a Tohatchi High School Cougar, Class of 2008, adorned in fresh, white robes.

For awhile, Amy didn't know exactly what was in store for her after high school. It took a little while for her to decide, but she started attending UNM-Gallup, a couple classes at a time, to begin figuring it out. After a few semesters of experimenting with majors, Amy announced plans to start a career in Business Administration. She began working toward her associate's at UNM-Gallup, intending to transfer to UNM main campus in Albuquerque in the upcoming years. She proudly earned it in 2013. She was a Lobo through and through and enjoyed shopping for Lobo merch at the campus bookstore from time to time.

Amy passed away too soon at the age of 25. She was last seen alive by her family two days before her body was found at the bottom of a 25-foot arroyo at State Route 602 and Blue Medicine Well Road in Red Rock, New Mexico, on November 30, 2014. Her family soon reported her missing and searched the Four Corners region and beyond for any sign of hope that Amy was all right. There was nothing but silence.

Meanwhile, Amy had been listed as a Jane Doe at the morgue. The coroner found she had died of blunt force trauma. Ten days passed before Amy's family was contacted by the FBI. They positively identified her and were in complete shock. How could someone so full of life and hope simply be gone in an instant without explanation? This was not like her.

As of 2019, the FBI is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for Amy's homicide. The FBI Albuquerque Field Office asks for the public's assistance in identifying the person(s) responsible.

MMIW USA, a non-profit based in Portland, Oregon and headed by Deborah Maytubee Denton, a fighting hatchet woman , has stepped forward to support publicity for Amy's homicide case.

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In lieu of flowers, consider a gift to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women USA.

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