Student artist killed in McKinleyville

by Peyton Leone and Ricardo Lara Nava

On April 8, Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call from Daniel Forrest Rena-Dozier, 41,who said his former partner would not leave his home. Authorities found Mia Simone Felder, 30, at the residence with a gunshot wound. She was taken to the local hospital and later died according to a Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office report.

"Her family is devastated," said Felder’s mother, Gloria Felder.

Felder was a photographer, artist and writer from Suisun City, CA. She graduated from Academy of Arts University San Francisco and the Arts Institute of Chicago. Felder’s art was featured in the fall 2022 “My Black Is” exhibition at Cal Poly Humboldt's Reese Bullen Gallery. Her work was also displayed at the Morris Graves Museum in Eureka.

Her mother said that she was proud of her Black and Mexican heritage.

Felder was in her second year at College of the Redwoods. She was participating in an internship through College Corps at CPH. Felder volunteered her time at the Boys and Girls Club in Eureka. Chad Brown, clubhouse program director, said that they were planning to hire Felder this month.

"She was very valuable and she made an impression on these kids in a short period of time which says a lot about who she is," Brown said.

The Felder family said she bravely conquered life’s challenges, never giving up on her greatest challenge, recovery from addiction.

"She wasn’t perfect and she knew it. She always strived to do better, be better. She was beautiful, inside and out. Her family and friends loved her dearly just as she was,” Gloria Felder said.

Her father, Hoarace Felder said, "We want her to be known as a great daughter. As strong, never giving up, passionate about what she was. Believed in what