Latest missing woman identified

Within the span of two weeks two formerly missing women were found dead in separate bodies of water.

Corrine White Thunder was found in the Downs Marina in Pierre the third week of June, and Leah Brosky was identified Wednesday after she was spotted on a bank of the Big Sioux River just north of Falls Park. Pierre police were not aware of White Thunder's absence, but investigators say she was last seen in Pierre in December of 2017.

We reached out to the Brosky family, and Leah’s brother had this to say following the tragic discovery.

“I can say that my sister had a big heart. She loved her family and children so much. She would always go out of her way to help others in need. Not knowing where she was, and her missing was stressful on the family. She struggled like too many others are with addiction, homelessness, and mental health. I know my mother and I are getting some closure now, and we're ready to bring her home and honor her life. We would like to thank the Sioux Falls Police Department and the community for their help and hard work. I hope that the City of Sioux Falls will expand outreach programs and help to those in the community that are struggling with addiction, homelessness, and mental health issues so we can save and help more people so other families will not have to go through what our family is going through.”

Leah Brosky was reported missing to Sioux Falls police May 13 when family reached out despite being from outside of South Dakota.

"They made the report,” Sam Clemens of the Sioux Falls Police Department said. “I do think there was some post they put out on social media just trying to help spread the word. Certainly they can do that to help find their loved one, and we've seen that frequently as well."

He also says there are cases where people are reported missing, but simply wish to get away from certain people or need time to themselves.

Although there is no confirmation as to how or why these women died, there are a few signs indicating possible trafficking according to Call to Freedom's Executive Director Becky Rasmussen.

"There are some definite red flags. When somebody goes missing for a long period of time and comes unidentified, asking the questions: Who were they connected with? What did that look like? Were there people that you weren't familiar with that may be associated with some kind of organized crime or kidnaping," she said.

Rasmussen says when that skepticism arises, alerting police and making it known to the public that someone is missing should be done sooner rather than later.

"Don't wait days, because if you wait hours, days, they could be gone if it is a trafficking situation with a short period of time."

A misconception that Sam Clemens mentioned as well is when missing cases are reported to him, most people are under the impression that they have to wait a certain amount of time, but that is not the case. You can bring attention to a missing person as soon as possible.