1 of 2 | Authorities said Wednesday that Alicia Navarro has been found living in Montana near the Canadian border. Photo courtesy of Glendale Police Department/
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July 27 (UPI) -- An Arizona teenager missing nearly four years has been located near Montana's border with Canada, authorities said, bringing an end to the search for the girl, but many questions surrounding her disappearance remain unanswered.
Authorities in Glendale, Ariz., told reporters during a press conference Wednesday that Alicia Navarro -- who was last seen in the city Sept. 14, 2019, shortly before her 15th birthday -- recently reported to a police station in a small Montana town 40 miles south of the Canadian border as an 18-year-old woman.
Jose Santiago, a spokesman for the Glendale Police Department, said they are confident the woman is Navarro and explained that she had showed up at the police station within the last few days asking for help to remove her name from a list of missing juveniles.
"She is by all accounts safe, she is by all accounts healthy and she is by all accounts happy," Santiago said.
"She's in not in any kind of trouble, she's not facing any kind of charges, she's not being held anywhere, she's coming and going at her own free will and she's been extremely cooperative with not only with our folks but our federal partners, as well."
Police have spoken to her on several occasions, according to authorities, who did not say which city the law enforcement department was located in out of respect for Navarro's privacy.
Little information was released about her disappearance, travels or living situation, with Santiago stating it is all under investigation.
Lt. Scott Waite of the Glendale Police Department, whose team has been leading the case, said that based on conversations with Navarro, her disappearance began as a runaway.
"Every indication that 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."
Navarro, who continues to reside in Montana, has been reunited with her mother, Waite said. He did not explain where nor how that occurred, but said it was "extremely overwhelming" for both of them.
Waite said they are investigating to see if any criminal offenses were involved in her disappearance while also providing Navarro with services as the authorities view her as a victim.
"I would ask for patience, not only for us as law enforcement in this investigation, but patience for Alicia and her family," he said. "We can only imagine what she's going through, mentally, emotionally, as well as her family, and as much as we'd like to say this is the end, we know that this is probably only the beginning of where this investigation will go."
Santiago echoed that statement, saying the case is far from over.
"We do have the resolution that we have located Alicia, but there's still a lot of questions that still need to be answered," he said.
