An 18-year-old woman, Alicia Navarro, who had disappeared from her home in Glendale, Arizona nearly four years ago, reemerged when she walked into a police station in Montana to report herself safe, authorities confirmed.
Navarro ran away from her home on September 15, 2019, when she was just 14 years old. As a person diagnosed on the autism spectrum, she left a note before leaving, promising to return and expressing remorse: “I ran away. I will be back, I swear. I’m sorry.”
Her disappearance triggered an extensive search conducted by local authorities and the FBI, but she remained elusive.
During a press conference, Glendale police spokesperson Jose Santiago disclosed that Navarro made her way to a police station in a small Montana town near the Canadian border this week. However, the exact location of her stay was not revealed.
After identifying herself to the police, Glendale authorities were notified and subsequently confirmed her identity with her family. Santiago reassured the public that Navarro is safe, healthy, and content: “She is by all accounts safe, she is by all accounts healthy, and she is by all accounts happy. We also have a message from Alicia herself, who is asking for privacy. This has been a traumatic situation for her, as you can imagine, but she is looking to be able to move on in her life.”
Navarro sought assistance to remove her name from the missing juvenile list, and she is neither being held nor facing any charges.
According to Glendale Police Lt. Scott Waite, Navarro presented herself at the Montana police station alone and has been cooperating with investigators. However, the circumstances surrounding her time as a missing person remain unclear, and authorities are diligently investigating the events that transpired during her absence.
During her time in Montana, Navarro was reunited with her mother, a moment that Waite described as “extremely overwhelming” for all involved, including the detectives handling the case.
