Authorities are searching for a 13-year-old Indigenous girl who was last seen more than a week ago near Ferndale in Whatcom County. The Washington State Patrol issued a Missing Indigenous Person alert on Tuesday, September 22, identifying the missing teen as Victoria Mervine. The alert was issued on behalf of the Lummi Nation Police Department.
Mervine was last seen around noon on Tuesday, September 15 off Vista Drive in Ferndale, WA. She stands five feet one inch tall, weighs approximately 115 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to call 911 or contact the Lummi Police Department non-emergency line at 360-312-2274.
The Missing Indigenous Person Alert System
Washington State's Missing Indigenous Person (MIP) alert is a relatively recent addition to the state's public safety notification systems, modeled on the Amber Alert framework and designed specifically to address the disproportionately high rates of missing and murdered Indigenous persons in Washington and across the country. The alert is activated by the Washington State Patrol at the request of a tribal or local law enforcement agency when an Indigenous person is reported missing under circumstances that meet certain criteria.
The MIP alert system was created in part because Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, often referred to as MMIWG, has become a recognized national crisis. Indigenous women and girls go missing at rates significantly higher than the general population, and their cases have historically received less media attention and investigative resources. Washington state's MIP alert is one legislative and operational response to that disparity, and activating it ensures that the public receives the same urgent notification they would for any other missing person alert.
In this case, the alert was activated on behalf of the Lummi Nation Police Department, which has jurisdiction over the Lummi Indian Reservation west of Ferndale. The Lummi Nation is one of the Coast Salish peoples of the Pacific Northwest and one of the larger tribal nations in Whatcom County, with a reservation that includes residential areas, tribal government facilities, a marina, and cultural institutions along the shore of Bellingham Bay and Lummi Bay.
What Is Known About Victoria Mervine
Mervine was 13 years old at the time of her disappearance and was last seen at approximately noon on September 15 near Vista Drive in Ferndale. Vista Drive is a residential area on the east side of Ferndale, not far from the Lummi Reservation boundary. The gap between her last known sighting and the public alert issued a week later on September 22 suggests that initial attempts to locate her through other means were made before the state-level notification was activated.
No additional details about the circumstances of her disappearance were included in the initial alert or the law enforcement notification. Investigators have not released information about where she may have been heading, whether she was with anyone, or what prompted the specific timeline of the alert issuance.
Given that more than a week has passed since Mervine was last seen, law enforcement is likely treating this as an active and urgent case. The Lummi Nation Police Department is the lead agency, with Washington State Patrol supporting through the MIP alert system. Residents throughout Whatcom County, particularly in Ferndale, Lummi Island, and the Bellingham area, are asked to review the description and contact authorities if they have seen her.
How to Help
If you have seen Victoria Mervine or have any information about her location, do not delay in calling. The primary contact for tips is 911 for emergency situations or the Lummi Police non-emergency line at 360-312-2274 for information that may assist the investigation. Providing even small details, such as a vehicle she may have been in, a location where she was seen, or contact with anyone who may know her whereabouts, can be valuable to investigators.
The Lummi Nation's tribal government and community organizations may also have additional resources and context for community members who want to help. Tribal communities often mobilize their own networks in missing person cases, and connecting with Lummi Nation community channels may surface information that formal law enforcement systems do not capture.
Missing person cases involving Indigenous youth in Whatcom County carry particular weight given the regional and national context of MMIWG. The activation of the state's Missing Indigenous Person alert is a recognition that every hour matters, and the cooperation of the broader Whatcom County public in sharing information is a critical part of the search. For updates on this case and other public safety news across Whatcom County, recent law enforcement coverage from across the county provides ongoing context for public safety developments in this area.
