Alicia Navarro from Arizona, who disappeared in 2019 when she was just 14 years old, has been found alive in a small town in Montana near the Canadian border.
Alicia, who is now 18, showed up at a local police station and identified herself. "She is by all accounts healthy and she is by all accounts happy," police said.
There's no word yet on where she was staying. When she disappeared in the middle of the night in 2019, she left a note saying: "I ran away. I will be back, I swear. I'm sorry. -- Alicia"
Her mom previously said she believed Alicia had met someone online.
Police have released two short clips in which Alicia is interviewed, as well as a photo.
Alicia, who is now 18, showed up at a local police station and identified herself. "She is by all accounts healthy and she is by all accounts happy," police said.
There's no word yet on where she was staying. When she disappeared in the middle of the night in 2019, she left a note saying: "I ran away. I will be back, I swear. I'm sorry. -- Alicia"
Her mom previously said she believed Alicia had met someone online.
Police have released two short clips in which Alicia is interviewed, as well as a photo.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Did anybody hurt you in any way?
00:02 No, no one hurt me.
00:05 Okay, so you know our goal is we just want to make sure that you're safe.
00:09 I don't, I don't, I don't, um, I understand that.
00:18 Thank you very much for talking with us.
00:27 Of course, thank you, thank you for offering help to me.
00:31 Yes ma'am, we'll talk to you soon.
00:33 Okay, goodbye.
00:34 Bye bye.
00:35 Good afternoon, my name is Jose Santiago, I'm the Media Manager here at the Glendale Police Department.
00:52 We want to first start off by telling you all thank you for your coverage on this announcement today.
00:59 It is a major announcement for us here at the Glendale Police Department.
01:02 I want to start off by saying that there's a lot of mixed emotions with this particular announcement that we're having.
01:09 We are happy and at the same time we're hopeful that we will be able to supply this family a little bit more closure.
01:17 With that I would like to tell you that Alicia Navarro has been located.
01:23 She is by all accounts safe, she is by all accounts healthy, and she is by all accounts happy.
01:31 She was located in a very small town in Montana near the Canadian border.
01:36 We can tell you that she went to a local police department in that area.
01:43 She identified herself as Alicia Navarro and at that point our officers went into investigation mode.
01:52 We conducted several types of interviews and not only through those interviews but through the help of Alicia's family themselves,
02:01 we are confident that the person that we are talking with and are dealing with is indeed Alicia Navarro.
02:09 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.
02:20 Since her discovery, our men and women here have been working tirelessly around the clock to not only bring closure to this family,
02:30 but to make sure that Alicia gets everything that she possibly needs.
02:34 I'm also going to bring up Lieutenant Scott Waite. It's his team that has been leading this investigation. He will have a few words.
02:41 Thank you, Jose. Again, Lieutenant Scott Waite, Glendale Police Department.
02:47 I don't think you could put enough words in the joy that we feel knowing earlier this week when we received a call that Alicia Navarro
02:57 had identified herself to police officers in Montana.
03:02 Not only the relief and joy for us, for Alicia, for her family, and for our community.
03:12 There hasn't been, I think, anybody that hasn't known this investigation that hasn't put themselves in the same spot as Alicia,
03:20 her family, and the emotions that they must be going through not only back in 2019 when this occurred, but in the last few days.
03:31 With that, we want you to know that we are continuing to investigate.
03:36 We immediately responded to the area, and with the help of the United States Marshal Service, as well as the FBI,
03:44 we've been able to continue this investigation to make contact with Alicia, to reunite her with her family,
03:52 and only begin to put together the puzzle, which is her disappearance and her returning.
04:01 I would ask patience, not only for us as law enforcement in this investigation, but patience for Alicia and for her family.
04:13 We can only imagine what she's going through mentally, emotionally, as well as her family.
04:20 And as much as we'd like to say this is the end, we know this is probably only the beginning of where this investigation will go,
04:27 and that we will continue to work with our state, local, federal partners, and even across state lines,
04:34 to make sure that Alicia has everything that she needs, that she's taken care of, that her family is getting the help that they need,
04:44 and that most importantly, that this investigation is completed thoroughly and done correctly. Thank you.
04:51 Just to quickly echo what Lieutenant Waite just said, this case is far from over.
04:57 We do have the resolution that we have located Alicia, but there's still a lot of questions that will still need to be answered.
05:05 There's still a lot of investigating that not only our employees have to do, but as well as these other partnering agencies.
05:13 So once again, we are asking that you all have patience with us. We will supply information as it becomes available.
05:20 And we also have a message from Alicia herself, who is asking for privacy.
05:26 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.
05:34 She's looking to build a life for herself, and she's asking for some privacy and patience as well.
05:41 With that, we will open the floor to questions.
05:43 Was she with anyone?
05:45 Right now, we don't know if she's been with anyone for the length of time that she's been missing.
05:51 We're still investigating that actively. We can tell you that when she showed up to the police department, she was by herself.
05:58 She's been by herself each time, and she's been cooperative.
06:01 As you put these puzzle pieces together, are you thinking that this was a runaway situation, a possible kidnapping, or are all options kind of on the table?
06:12 We certainly don't want to eliminate any options.
06:16 From the statements that she made, this started as a runaway situation.
06:19 She reiterated it as much.
06:21 But there are, of course, more dynamics at play as you start to put together the puzzle.
06:28 I would say that all options are on the table, and we will not discount anything until we've done a full and complete investigation.
06:35 Also, I want to point out that we have Phil Bates with the FBI here that is also willing to answer any questions that you might have.
06:42 How old is she currently?
06:44 She was 14 at the time. She is getting ready to turn 19, so she's currently 18 years old.
06:51 She went missing in the middle of September of 2019, and her birthday was a couple days after she went missing.
06:58 How did she get to Montana?
07:01 We don't know yet. That's certainly part of the investigation and answers that we're hoping to get from Alicia herself.
07:08 I'm sorry, how old is she now?
07:09 She is 18. She's getting ready to turn 19 in September.
07:13 Did she show up to that police department alone? Was she with anyone at the time?
07:17 Yeah, so when she came to the police department, she did come alone.
07:21 As our detectives and as the local PD up there have talked with her and met with her, she's always been alone.
07:27 Did you say the name of the town that she went to?
07:30 At this time, we're not going to release that information, not only out of respect for Alicia and her privacy, but this is a very small town.
07:38 We can tell you that it is close to the Canadian border. It's about 40 miles from the Canadian border in Montana.
07:44 And they are working alongside us to help resolve all the questions that we have in this case.
07:53 So out of respect for the investigation, as well as the respect for Alicia's privacy, we're withholding that.
07:59 Is anyone facing charges currently or could anyone potentially face charges?
08:05 I mean, there's always the potential that somebody could face charges.
08:08 As this investigation unfolds and we get more clarification on what happened to her, that's certainly a possibility.
08:14 But I can't say that there's anything imminent or pending at this time.
08:18 You mentioned she turned herself in to a police department. Would that be Montana?
08:22 She was in Montana. Turning herself in is a strong statement.
08:26 She showed up to a police department. She identified herself as Alicia Navarro.
08:32 And she basically asked for help to clear her off of a missing juvenile list.
08:39 She, by all accounts, went on her own free will.
08:43 She is not in any kind of trouble. She's not facing any kind of charges.
08:48 She is not being held anywhere. She is coming and going at her own free will.
08:52 And she has been extremely cooperative with not only our folks, but our federal partners as well.
08:58 Does she want to come back to Arizona?
09:02 I still think it's really early in her healing process as to where she wants to stay.
09:10 And that's certainly up to her. And we will help her in any way possible to make sure that she is in her best situation and the most comfortable that she can possibly be.
09:18 I know that her mom has been searching for her since she went missing. You said that you were able to reunite her family and her.
09:28 Were you there for that? Can you describe what that was like?
09:32 Emotionally overwhelming, not only for the mother, but for Alicia herself.
09:38 With respect to the family, I'm not going to go into specifics on how that reunification was done.
09:44 But I can say for everybody involved, including the detectives, it was extremely overwhelming.
09:50 Which family members were there for that reunification?
09:54 The first notification was to her mother. And that was the first notification, and I would say reunification, that's happened.
10:02 Did the investigation ever indicate her intent?
10:08 So throughout the last few years, there's been a lot of tips, leads, citizen upon citizen who's wanted to help with this investigation.
10:19 And I can tell you that each tip and lead were looked into. As to specifics, whether there were any in Montana, I would have to look back and see.
10:27 But I know that there are some that spanned across all parts of this country.
10:32 It was early, but was she staying with a friend in Montana?
10:36 We just don't know the answer to that question right now. Right now, those are some of the questions that we have.
10:42 She's overwhelmed. She's overwhelmed. She realizes that there's been a lot of attention on this case.
10:48 She is very knowledgeable as far as that's concerned.
10:52 Right now, her priority is to work with us. She wanted to talk to her mom.
10:58 And she wanted to make sure her mother knew she was okay. And we're taking it day by day, step by step with her.
11:06 You know, it's important to tag along to what Lieutenant Waite just said.
11:10 With this case, there were literally thousands of tips that would come in on this case.
11:15 This has been going on for nearly four years now.
11:19 And every one of those tips, every one of those possibilities were looked into, investigated.
11:26 And we're just happy to say that she did indeed come forward.
11:31 And we feel very strongly that this is Alicia.
11:36 I know she had left a note before she left. Do we know that?
11:40 Or can we confirm that she did indeed leave her house while in Charlie?
11:45 From every indication that she's given us, and again, it's very early in the investigation,
11:50 and I need to stress again, patience, and that it is early.
11:53 But every indication she's given us so far is that she willfully left her home, her own free will and choice.
12:00 Now, the dynamics surrounding that decision are obviously something that we're looking into.
12:05 I know we have an FBI representative here. I don't know if he wants to share his role.
12:11 And this is Phil Bates.
12:14 As with every missing juvenile case, the FBI assists our state and local partners with intelligence gathering
12:21 and with other resources as necessary.
12:23 And this is no different in this case.
12:25 We provided support to the Glendale Police Department and will continue to support both here in Arizona and in Montana.
12:32 What are the next steps in a case like this?
12:35 Obviously, she's safe and happy and healthy at this point, no indication that anybody is being charged with any sort of crime.
12:43 But what are the next steps? What does your investigation look like from here?
12:47 Complex. It's multifaceted.
12:51 There's two parts to it.
12:54 In any investigation like this, there's a criminal element.
12:56 Of course there is.
12:57 We want to search and find the answers. If there was any criminal intent behind it, certainly not from her, but from others involved.
13:09 And then there's also the assistance side of it.
13:12 To us, she is a victim and we need to provide services to her, whether that be mental or just health wise or just helping her get her life back in order.
13:25 So there's certainly a lot of different things that we want to make sure, not only for Alicia, but her family, that we cover all the steps that we can.
13:34 Did she need medical attention after she turned herself in?
13:40 I can say that she didn't require any immediate medical attention or any medical attention since we've been with her.
13:46 Again, I think Jose stated well, she seems happy and healthy to the extent that she can be, given the circumstance.
13:54 That's certainly something that we want to help provide for her and make sure that if she hasn't seen a doctor in the last few years,
14:03 that those are things that we are able to provide for her and make sure that she has everything necessary to really move on with her life and enjoy the rest of her life.
14:13 Was there any social media involvement?
14:16 That you did speak on when she first left, that somebody probably did speak to her and convince her to house through social media. Could that be the case?
14:26 So that's part of any investigation. That was obviously part of the initial investigation.
14:31 The family was very supportive and cooperative in providing whatever information that they had as to her, we'll call social media fingerprint and what she was using.
14:44 I can tell you that we follow those leads extensively. We continue to follow them.
14:48 We continue to look back from the very day, minute, hour that she left and try and go down every lead that we can to see if that'll provide answers.
14:59 And certainly now that hasn't stopped and will continue.
15:02 Any inclination of why now? And a lot of these cases don't turn out like this. So can you tell us your reaction as well?
15:11 I think for Alicia is that she felt like now was the time that whether it's emotionally, mentally, that she wants to take the next steps in her life.
15:22 She's expressed a desire to move forward in life and do the things that a normal, healthy adult would do.
15:28 And we certainly want to help her get those. So I can't say that there's any single triggering moment.
15:35 I think there's probably been a long progression for her in the journey that she's taken. And we are more than happy, ready and willing to help her through the rest of her path.
15:47 Is Alicia still in Montana? I'm sorry, I didn't catch that.
15:50 Yes, she is still there with the local police up there with our investigators.
15:56 And we are continuing to help her in whatever way we can.
15:59 Can you tell us when she went to a police department? Was it within the last few days?
16:03 Within the last few days.
16:06 Once we wrap up this press conference, we will be emailing out to your desks a photograph that was taken of her when she arrived at the police department.
16:18 I will tell you just to be direct, it will look she doesn't look much different than she did when she disappeared.
16:27 She is 18 years old. She's getting ready to turn 19, but her appearance is still that of a very young looking young lady.
16:36 Besides the photograph that we will be releasing, we will send two very small video clips of some of the very small portion of interviews that were done by our officers via FaceTime prior to seeing her face to face.
16:53 Alicia is by all accounts again, she just appears to be in good spirits.
17:00 She really just wants to move on with her life.
17:03 She is very apologetic to what she has put her mother through, has expressed that, and she understands that she caused a lot of pain to her mother.
17:12 And it was not intentional on her behalf, and she's hopeful that they can have a relationship.
17:18 If there's no further questions, we're going to wrap it up there.
17:23 Thank you guys.
17:25 Thank you guys.