GLENDALE, ARIZONA: In a surprising turn of events, missing Arizona teen Alicia Navarro has returned. Navarro disappeared from her Glendale home in 2019 leaving a note behind, just a few days before her 15th birthday. Since then, her mother Jessica Nunez has been looking for her relentlessly. On Sunday, July 23, Navarro went into the Havre Police Department in Montana and announced herself to be the missing teenager.
Navarro's family is ecstatic after her return and thanked the police, online supporters, and media. As per the initial reports, Navarro was found safe and told the police that nobody hurt her, as per New York Post.
Who is Jessica Nunez?
Nunez, the Arizona teen's mother, never lost hope and continued searching for her missing daughter. While Navarro has “spoken briefly” with her mother, she is yet to come back to her Glendale home, New York Post reported citing the family’s private investigator Trent Steel.
Thanking the Glendale Police Department in a statement released to Fox 10, Navarro’s family wrote, “We want to start by saying how happy we are that Alicia has been found alive and safe,” before adding, “It is a blessing that after being missing for so long Alicia can come back home.”
The statement further added, “We would also like to thank the Glendale Police Department [for their] hard work and dedication.” As per New York Post, it is unclear if Nunez has gone to Montana to bring her now-legally-adult daughter back to Glendale. The family further thanked the Anti-Predator Project for “their commitment to supporting our family.” They also thanked the media and online supporters who helped them navigate the dark period. They said, “It has helped our family through some very dark times, and we cannot thank you enough.”
Referring to the incident as a “miracle,” Nuenez said in a Facebook video, “For everyone who has missing loved ones, I want you to use this case as an example,” before adding, “Miracles do exist. Never lose hope and always fight.”
Alicia Navarro's disappearance
In September 2019, just a few days before her 15th birthday, Navarro ran away from her family home in Glendale, Arizona. She left a handwritten note with the message, “I ran away. I will be back. I swear. I’m sorry.” Four years later, on Sunday, July 23, Navarro reappeared as she went into the Havre Police Department in the tiny Montana town, 1000 miles away from her home. There, she asked the police to take her name off the missing person’s list and requested to be reunited with her family. While the investigation is still going on, her mother believed Navarro, who was diagnosed to be a high-functioning autistic person, was lured by someone she met online.
In 2022, Nunez told 12 News that Navarro stacked up chairs beside the boundary wall in order to hop outside. She took her mobile phone and laptop with her. Navarro visited a chocolate factory earlier in the day of missing and asked her mother when she was going to sleep.
