More details of the mysterious case surrounding Alicia Navarro are trickling out, with cops revealing that the 18-year-old miraculously reappeared at a police station in the small railroad town of Havre, Montana, near the Canadian border.
On Thursday, the Havre Police Department announced it had been the station that had located the missing juvenile, filling in a crucial detail after authorities originally declined to name the city in which she turned up.
In a statement, Chief of Police Gabe Matosich said Navarro walked into the station on Sunday, July 23, at approximately 11:00 a.m. She “entered the Havre Police Department to report she had been reported missing and wanted to clear her status,” Matosich added.
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“We are so glad for Alicia and her family so that they can be reunited and the family can no longer have the anguish of not knowing where their child is or whether or not she is OK.”
Matosich said Navarro “appeared to be fine and in good health.”
Navarro, who has autism, was just 14 when she went missing in September 2019, leaving behind a note saying, “I ran away. I will be back. I swear. I’m sorry.” Her birthday was just a couple days after her disappearance.
At the time, her mother, Jessica Nuñez, suspected her daughter had been lured away by a predator online.
On the third anniversary of her disappearance in 2022, Nuñez told 12 News that she was “still waiting for her to fulfill her promise.” She described how her daughter “stacked up chairs in the backyard and hopped over the fence.”
When approached by The Daily Beast on Thursday regarding the family’s reunion, Glendale Police said: “Obviously, this is an emotional time for the family, and we will respect their privacy on their reunion.”
Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview with the New York Post, the family’s private investigator said Thursday that Navarro and her mother had only “spoken briefly” since the now 18-year-old came forward and that she has “not made her intentions clear” surrounding her return to Glendale, Arizona.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Nuñez wrote this week: “I love you Alicia always know that no matter what I always will.”
On Thursday, the family released a statement to Fox 10, thanking Glendale Police and the Anti-Predator project.
“We want to start by saying how happy we are that Alicia has been found alive and safe,” the statement adds.
“It is a blessing that after being missing for so long Alicia can come back home. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families of missing loved ones that have not yet returned home. If there is anything that Alicia’s has taught us is that you can never give up hope.”
It still remains unclear why Navarro identified herself now, and her whereabouts over the last four years.
Glendale Police Lieutenant Scott Waite said Wednesday police were unsure why she reappeared now, but noted “she felt like now was the time, whether it’s emotionally, mentally, that she wants to take the next steps in her life...to do the things that a normal, healthy adult would do. I can’t say there is any single triggering moment, I think there’s probably been a long progression for her in the journey she’s taken.”
Navarro appears to be in good spirits, police claimed, adding that despite being “overwhelmed,” she “really wants to move on with her life,” and is “very apologetic to her mother and understands she caused a lot of pain.”
Police said the teen remains hopeful that they can rebuild their relationship.
In a video message Wednesday, Nuñez described the discovery of her daughter as a “miracle.” “This is recent news for me, I don’t have details but the important thing is she is alive...never lose hope and always fight,” she said.
Police would not go into details of the reunion between the pair, except that it was “emotionally overwhelming” for both of them.
Santiago said Navarro was “very apologetic to what she has put her mother through,” that it was “not intentional” on her behalf and that understands she caused a lot of pain to her mother.
“For more than four years detectives here have followed up on THOUSANDS of leads,” Santiago said in a statement to The Daily Beast.
“This case is far from being closed. We are continuing to investigate her whereabouts for the last four years and will do so alongside our Federal partners. Alicia is asking for her privacy at this time. We are thankful we can bring some type of closure to her family. We are also thankful she appears to be in good health and happy.”
