Alicia Navarro, a 16-year-old from Glendale who went missing four years ago, has been found safe and sound in a small Montana hamlet, authorities said Wednesday. Public information officer Jose Santiago reported during a press conference that the former Arizona resident had been recovered and was “safe, healthy, and happy” after being reunited with family.
Alicia reportedly visited a nearby police station alone and confirmed her identity as the missing adolescent. As soon as police in Glendale learned that the girl had identified herself as Navarro, they began working to confirm her identity with the cooperation of the Navarro family and by conducting many interviews.
“I can’t even begin to express to you all the pride that I personally have in the men and women here at our police department. Since her discovery, our men and women here have been working tirelessly around the clock to not only bring closure to this family but to make sure that Alicia gets everything she possibly needs,” Santiago said.
We, Alicia, her family, and the entire community are overjoyed and relieved by her safe return, the police added. The missing and found girl will remain under investigation by the Glendale Police Department. Because she ran away from home, authorities had no idea where she was or who she was with.
The tweet below verifies the news:
Missing Glendale teen, Alicia Navarro, reunited with her family after four years https://t.co/U4wF2H1f2n
— Detroit Free Press (@freep) July 27, 2023
“Alicia by all accounts appears to be in good spirits. She really just wants to move on with her life. She is very apologetic for what she has put her mother through. And she understands that she has caused a lot of pain to her mother, and it was not intentional on her behalf, and she is hopeful that they can have a relationship,” Santiago said.
Alicia told her mom she was coming home in a note. According to the initial article in The Arizona Republic, Alicia returned home a week before her 15th birthday and surprised her mother by writing a message and leaving it on the dresser. Alicia had asked her mother, Jessica Nuez, if she might miss school on September 13, 2019, two days before she vanished.
Alicia’s first day of classes at Bourgade Catholic High School in Phoenix probably had her feeling anxious, so Nuez agreed with her assessment. The following day was spent by the two at a chocolate factory. It was a great day for Alicia, Nuez told the Republic. After asking her mother what time she would be going to bed on the night of September 15, Alicia vanished.
Here are some more specific connections to sections inside the California Examiner that you may find useful as a news and information resource:
- Meryl Streep Takes on a New Role in Only Murders in the Building Season 3
- California Woman Punched in Face by Deputy While Holding Newborn
In Alicia’s room, Nuez discovered a message that said, “I went away. I assure you that I will return. I apologize. -Alicia.” After reading the note, Nuez had no contact with her daughter until recently. Nuez thought Alicia might have been kidnapped by a gamer she met online. She devoted much of her time to gaming—a pastime she’d taken up when she was just 11 years old.
“I’m more than 90% sure that my daughter met this person online,” Nuñez previously told the Republic. Nuez claimed her daughter was a cautious person who wouldn’t have been easily duped. She was largely reclusive, however she did maintain a handful of lifelong friendships. I never imagined that there were people out there who would try to recruit our young people.
Even though I am aware of the potential for evil in this world, the thought never occurred to me. I don’t think that would have worked with my kid because of who she is. “It probably took this person a while to earn (her) trust,” Nuez added.
After her disappeared, police looked over thousands of tips. fter Alicia went missing in 2019, the Glendale Police Department revealed that they investigated thousands of leads. The Arizona Silver Alert was also issued for the first time to the Republic’s knowledge for a person who was not an older person with dementia.
At least once a week, police said they received a tip about a possible sighting in 2017, and those tips came from all around the world. No hard evidence of Alicia’s kidnapping could be found. In an effort to find her missing daughter, Nuez has collaborated with private investigation firms, put up billboards, made television appearances, and utilized social media.
It appears that Alicia had plans to return home, according to Kathleen Winn, director of Project25, a charity that collaborates with law enforcement to combat human trafficking. “The note that she left suggested that she didn’t plan on being gone very long, and the clothes that she left in her closet, some of her favorite things, also suggests to us that she herself didn’t know she wouldn’t be returning,” Winn previously told The Republic.
If you want to keep up with current events, start reading californiaexaminer.net right away to have access to breaking news and in-depth articles.
