Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News
Fiona Tuttle, a CAFI who works out of the Sacramento Field Office, works frequently with Preston. The FBI’s CAFIs provide regional coverage. So, when she’s needed, Tuttle flies to Phoenix. She then meets Preston in Flagstaff or drives out to the victim’s tribal community. She said Preston’s rapport with victims and families sets a firm foundation for her interviews.
“She has the face and the language of the people she serves,” Tuttle said. “She really is kind of that bridge connecting me to the parents to trust me to tell their story. If we can build the trust with the parent or the caregiver, that goes such a long way for a child who has to disclose a very terrifying, heinous event, and know that their family, through Blanda, trusts me.”
Albert Nez, a criminal investigator for the Navajo Nation, said the trust has been built over many years and at many crime scenes. “She always answers her phone,” Nez said—a remark that carries a lot of weight from someone with more work than there are hours in the day.
Regina Thompson, assistant director of the Bureau’s Victim Services Division, said the mission’s success relies on relationships like these.
“At the heart of our victim services mission is understanding people and the context in which they live, which is why we have victim specialists stationed across the country, living and working in the communities they serve,” Thompson said.
Preston’s phone rang while she was in Tuba City. It was her father, speaking in Navajo, calling to say a friend noticed his daughter was in town. It was a revealing moment of small-town word-of-mouth. And it crystallized how valuable it is for the FBI to reflect the communities it serves.