The Story of Alicia Navarro’s Missing Person Case, And Her Mysterious Reappearance

You may remember the missing person’s case that made headlines back in September 2019 when 14-year-old Alicia Navarro disappeared from her home.

As reported by NBC at the time, Navarro vanished from her home in Glendale, Arizona on the morning of September 15, 2019. As her mother, Jessica Nuñez, told the outlet, Navarro is on the autism spectrum. She explained, “We just need to find her… My girl is out there alone, without me.”

Fast-forward to July 2023, and 18-year-old Navarro walked into a Havre, Montana police station to clear her missing person status. Police released a statement at the time that Navarro seemed “fine and in good health.” Authorities described, “She by all accounts went on her own free will, she is not in any kind of trouble, she’s not facing any kind of charges she is not being held anywhere.”

But where was she for four years?

Many people on TikTok are resurfacing the head-scratching case, which President and National Director of Investigations for the Anti-Predator Project, Trent Steele, told ABC15 is “hands down one of the most complex and bizarre cases [he has] ever been involved in.”

Here is everything to know about Navarro’s missing person case, her reappearance four years later, and the 36-year-old man authorities found her living with.

Alicia Navarro left her home in September 2019, leaving a note that read: “I ran away”

As per NBC, Navarro disappeared from her Glendale, Arizona home on the morning of September 15, 2019. Her mother, Nuñez, remembered her daughter coming downstairs at 1 AM to drink water. It seems like Navarro was playing on her computer at the time, which she often did. “She was really big into gaming,” the mother explained.

“She would stay up later playing games online and talking to friends. I didn’t think anything of it. It seemed safe to me.”

However, by around 7 AM, Nuñez realized that her home’s back door was open — and two chairs were stacked on top of each other next to a wall in the backyard. Meanwhile, Navarro was nowhere to be found. Upon searching her daughter’s room, the mother found a note that read: “I ran away. I will be back. I swear. I’m sorry.”

At the time, the mother worried that an online predator had gotten in contact with her daughter. “I just feel like she’s in danger… Someone has her and I’m so worried,” she said.

As per FOX10, the Glendale police department received thousands of leads on Navarro’s case since then. However, none were conclusive— until the now 19-year-old walked into a Montana police station herself on July 23, 2023.

At the time, Navarro told authorities that “she wanted to begin her life as an adult.” Videos also reportedly show her saying, “No, no one hurt me.”

By July 2023, police began investigating an older man allegedly living with the teen

Days after Navarro’s reappearance, authorities brought in a man for questioning in connection to the case. As per AP News, police questioned the man and searched his Montana apartment. Authorities did not release his name at the time, but the outlet spoke to the man’s neighbor, Garrett Smith. Smith explained that Navarro lived in that very same apartment for at least a year.

Glendale Police Lieutenant Scott Waite said at the time that they were considering kidnapping as a possible reason behind the disappearance.

By October 2023, FOX10 reported that police arrested Edmund Davis, 36, who was reportedly living with Navarro in Havre, Montana. Authorities released a statement that read, “Edmund Davis had been sought by law enforcement agencies for his alleged involvement in two counts of sexual abuse of children.” However, these charges were not related to Navarro’s case.

That month, authorities accused Davis of possessing sexually explicit images of minors. These charges stem from the police searching his home on July 26, where they obtained cellphones and a computer.

Currently, Davis is charged with two counts of sexual abuse of children. He is in jail on a $1 million bond.

Meanwhile, Glendale Police and the FBI continue to investigate the reasons behind Navarro’s disappearance. However, it is unclear whether they are investigating Davis’ possible connection to her missing person case.

By November, PEOPLE reported that Navarro had finally reunited with her mother. “This has been a very difficult journey, but it has a happy ending and today my family is complete again,” Nuñez wrote on Facebook. She also said “God is a miracle worker.”

Police Lieutenant Waite said at the time of Navarro’s disappearance that she was sorry for “what she has put her mother through.” Still, with so many question left unanswered, he added: “This is only the beginning of where this investigation will go.”