Photo:Jessica Nunez/Facebook
Jessica Nunez/Facebook
An Arizona teen, who had been missing since 2019 after she ran away from her home when she was 14 years old, has been found safe in Montana four years later.
The Glendale Police Department announced during a press conference on Wednesday that Alicia Navarro, who disappeared from her home in Glendale on Sept. 15, 2019, had reported to a police station in Montana close to the Canadian Border this week, according toFox 10 Phoenix.
Officials said that Navarro identified herself and asked for help getting off a missing juvenile list at the Montana police station, per the outlet.
Santiago added that she was “not in any kind of trouble” and “not facing any kind of charges," adding: “She is coming and going at her own free will, and she has been extremely cooperative not only with our folks but our federal partners as well."
Alicia Navarro photographed in 2023.Jessica Nunez/Facebook
In a statement given toNBC News, Lt. Scott Waite of the Glendale Police Department said that her disappearance and reappearance in Montana still remains under investigation, however.
“Every indication she’s given to us so far is that she willfully left her home,” Waite said. “Now the dynamics surrounding that decision are obviously something we’re looking into.”
Officials said Navarro, who has high-functioning autism, had disappeared from her home in the middle of the night, leaving a note that read, “I ran away. I will be back, I swear. I’m sorry,” per Fox 10. Her mother, Jessica Nunez, noted that the back door had also been left open, the outlet said.
Navarro had taken her laptop and cellphone with her, but investigators had been unable to trace her digital signal since she vanished, according to Fox 10.
Lt. Waite confirmed to NBC News that the Navarro had an “emotionally overwhelming” reunion with her mother, who shared that her daughter was safe in avideo posted on FacebookWednesday.
“For everyone who has missing loved ones, I want you to use this case as an example,” Nunez said in the clip. “Miracles do exist. Never lose hope and always fight.”
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Santiago said at the press conference that Navarro is “very apologetic to what she has put her mother through” and says the family has now asked for privacy.
source: people.com
