A girl who went missing over three years ago at age 14 has returned home safely after reporting to a police station in Montana, officials said Wednesday.
According to Glendale police, Alicia Navarro, now 18, recently traveled to a small town near the Canadian border and identified herself as the girl who disappeared from her Glendale, Arizona, home on Sept. 15, 2019, NBC News reported.
"She is by all accounts safe, she is by all accounts healthy, and she is by all accounts happy," Jose Santiago, a spokesman for Glendale police, said.
Initially, the disappearance was treated as a runaway case, as mentioned by police Lt. Scott Waite. However, the investigation is ongoing, and there are still unclear details about how Navarro made her way to Montana.
"Every indication 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."
Upon arriving at the police station in the remote Montana town, located approximately 40 miles from the U.S.-Canada border, Navarro was unaccompanied. Throughout her interactions with the police, officials noted that she consistently spoke to them alone.
"She showed up to a police department. She identified herself as Alicia Navarro. She basically asked for help to clear her off of a missing juvenile list," Santiago said. "She is not in any kind of trouble. She is not facing any kind of charges."
Police stated that Navarro and her family requested privacy during this time. Additionally, the police have chosen not to disclose the name of the Montana town where Navarro was found.
"Alicia by all accounts appears to be in good spirits," Santiago said, according to USA Today. "She really just wants to move on with her life. She is very apologetic to what she has put her mother through. And she understands that she has caused a lot of pain to her mother, and it was not intentional on her behalf, and she is hopeful that they can have a relationship."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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