U-S Attorney for South Dakota Brendan Johnson says his office has determined that a handful of the 60 unresolved deaths on the Pine Ridge Reservation being reviewed at the request of the Oglala Sioux Tribe should be closed, with the reviews still underway on the vast majority of the cases.

Johnson told The Associated Press in an interview on Tuesday that his office has completed reviews on four or five of the cases and that in some of them the conclusion was consistent with the original decisions to close the cases.

He would not go into specifics about the cases already reviewed, saying on that more information will be released in the spring after additional cases have been reviewed…pointing out that reviewing a case and following up possible leads can take months.

The tribe asked Johnson last year to review the unresolved deaths after the FBI refused to do so without new information. A report released in 2000 detailed the FBI’s decision to close 57 cases dating back to the 1960’s, but tribal leaders say that report is questionable.

Johnson has appointed three prosecutors from his office and an investigator to review the cases, and says they will reach out to family members of the victims in the next few months to discuss where the cases stand and see about any new leads.

Johnson said he has reached out to the Oglala Sioux Tribe and would welcome the involvement of tribal attorney general Tatewin Means.