(UPDATE) The Havre Police Department said on Thursday that Alicia Navarro came into the police station at about 11 a.m. on Sunday, July 23, 2023.
She told police that she had been reported missing and wanted to "clear her status." The agency said that Alicia appeared to be fine and in good health.
When interacting with police, Alicia appeared to be in bright spirits, the same happy and healthy girl who mysteriously vanished from Glendale years ago. She was reportedly apologetic for what she put her mother through, and the pair were virtually reunited.
The HPD said in a news release: "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."
We talked with some Havre residents, who expressed relief that Alicia was safe - and also curiosity about how the situation came about.
Emily Bouge, a hairdresser in Havre, wondered, “Where she'd been. And how did she get by? This whole time, I can't even imagine it. Especially as a parent, you know. How do you even…you worry that whole time they're gone?”
For MSU-Northern student Jonathan Michaelson, the news makes much more sense given recent events at his apartment building, where armed men stormed a neighbor’s unit.
Michaelson said, “They went in with arms and body armor. Like they went in really aggressively, apparently. So all I knew, (an officer) eventually came up while I was talking to my neighbors. One of the guys that was supposedly undercover told me he was up here from Arizona. All he really wanted to know was how well I knew my neighbor, the interactions I had, whether or not there was a girl that had been living there. He told me late teens, like Latina, or something.”
Whether Alicia had been living just next door to Jonathan remains to be seen, as police will not disclose her current or former location.
Alicia's mother told Scripps News Phoenix that a person was questioned by authorities and that person has been released.
On Friday afternoon, Glendale Police Department officials told Scripps News Phoenix that their detectives went to Havre and served a search warrant after Alicia identified herself at the Havre police station.
Detectives interviewed approximately four individuals. At this time, no one has been detained or is in custody, and no arrests have been made.
At this point, no information about her disappearance has been released, including how long she has been in Montana, and whether she was or is currently accompanied by anyone.
The Glendale Police Department has assumed the lead in the investigation.
We will update you if we get more information.
(1st REPORT) The Glendale Police Department in Arizona has announced that Alicia Navarro, who is now 18 years old, has been found and is alive. Police officials announced on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, that she was found to be in Montana.
Officials say she turned up at a police station and identified herself as Alicia Navarro and asked for help getting herself off a missing persons list.
She is currently not in custody and police are not disclosing her location at this time. Authorities believe Navarro left her home at the time of her own free will. Details of how she left the home and the state are still being investigated.
Police have not provided details on where or who she has been staying with.
A new photo of Navarro was released Wednesday by Glendale PD. The left photo shows her at 14 years old and the right photo shows her at 18 years old in 2023.
Navarro, who has autism, was 14 years old when she was reported missing by her family in 2019.
At the time, Navarro's mom Jessica Nunez said her daughter left behind a note saying she would be back. Nunez says she believed her daughter was lured by an online predator.
We will update you if we get more information.
