An Arizona 18-year-old who was declared missing for four years before turning up in Montana last month has fled the apartment she was living in with a 36-year-old man.
Navarro left with Eddy Davis, who was a night shift worker at a local Walmart store before he was let go several months ago, a former coworker told The New York Post.
Navarro and Davis were helped with their belongings by Davis’s relatives, then drove off in several cars. There is no suggestion Davis was involved in her initial disappearance.
‘Alicia is an adult, so it will be her decision as to whether or not she remains in Montana, returns to Arizona, or goes elsewhere, regardless of the investigation,’ said Gina Winn, a spokesman for Havre police, in an email to The Post.
It comes after Navarro had walked into a police station in Havre, Montana on July 23 and said she no longer wanted to be declared missing because she wanted a driving license.
Her mother Jessica Nunez, had led the search for the past four years: Navarro was 14 when she left her Glendale, Arizona, home on September 15, 2019, and her mother described her as a highly-functioning autistic child, who she feared had ran away with someone she met online.
Navarro is seen at the time of her disappearance, aged 14
A Facebook photo of Eddy Davis, 36, a night stocker at Walmart who lives in Havre, Montana, who is believed to have been living with Navarro
Navarro left her mother a note in September 2019 saying she was leaving, but would return
Police in Montana have said that Navarro, as an adult, cannot be forced to return to her mother, and on Monday night Navarro was seen clearing out the apartment where she had been living.
It was unclear where Navarro had been for the last four years, and how she had survived.
The youthful-looking 18-year-old told police in Montana that ‘no one hurt me’.
Neighbors have now described how the FBI quickly surrounded Navarro’s building before eventually entering with armed officers on July 23, and described how a distressed Navarro looked ‘really young’.
The police department is now continuing to investigate Navarro’s disappearance, as it remains unclear how the teenager traveled more than 1,000 miles alone to a small town on the border of Canada to identify herself to police.
The situation remains under investigation, but authorities confirmed that Navarro was unharmed and did not require any medical attention when she approached the police.
Alicia Navarro, right, pictured with her mother, Jessica Nunez. Navarro was 14 when she left her Glendale, Arizona, home on September 15, 2019
Alicia Navarro, now 18, turned herself into police in Montana last week asking to be taken off the missing person’s list. She is pictured speaking to police in Arizona at the end of July about her identity
Havre, Montana is located some 1,400 miles from where Navarro disappeared in Glendale, Arizona
Police had previously stated how Navarro had willingly left her home just before her 15th birthday
Last week, she turned herself in to Montana authorities because she wanted to obtain a driver’s license and live a ‘normal life.’
On Sunday night, Navarro’s mother begged internet sleuths to back off from their investigations and harassment of her family that has put their ‘safety in jeopardy.’
In an emotional Facebook video Sunday night, Jessica Nuñez pleaded for people to ‘move on’ as questions remain about her daughter, Alicia Navarro’s, disappearance
In an emotional Facebook video, Jessica Nuñez pleaded for the public to ‘move on,’ even as questions remain about her daughter’s vanishing.
The distraught mother warned in the video how the ‘search for answers has taken a turn for the dangerous,’ claiming she and her family have been targeted since her daughter’s reemergence.
‘I have been harassed, my family has been attacked all over the Internet — the public has gone from trying to help Alicia to doing things like trying to show up to her house and putting her safety in jeopardy,’ Nuñez claimed.
‘So I beg you, please no more TikToks, no more reaching out to Alicia or me with your speculation or questions or assumptions. This is not a movie, this is our life, this is my daughter.’
On Monday, police told DailyMail.com they had nothing new to add about the state of the investigation.
Addressing the public, Nuñez expressed her appreciation for everyone who has supported her since her daughter went missing in 2019.
‘I could never have kept going without all of your love, help and well wishes,’ she said between tears. ‘I can’t even put into words the amount of gratitude I have for you all.
‘But now that we know Alicia is alive, I have to ask one more favor of you,’ she continued. ‘I know you want answers, and I do too, but the public’s search for answers has taken a turn for the dangerous.
‘I love her more than anything in the world, and I think I have shown you that.’
She addressed the internet sleuths looking at the case and begged them not to focus on the family while police do their work.
‘There’s an ongoing investigation, and I’m begging you to move on,’ she added.
Nuñez captioned the video: ‘Let’s focus [on the fact] that my daughter is alive. This is a miracle.’
Navarro, who has been described as having high-functioning autism, was just 14 when she slipped out of her Glendale home in September 2019
Over the years, Nuñez partnered with various private investigative services, put up billboards, appeared on television programs and used social media in her efforts to find her daughter
Navarro, who has been described as having high-functioning autism, was just 14 when she slipped out of her Glendale, Arizona, home in September 2019.
She left her mother a handwritten note in her bedroom that read: ‘I ran away. I will be back, I swear. I’m sorry.’
Her disappearance sparked a massive search that included the FBI.
Police spokesman Jose Santiago said over the years, police had received thousands of tips.
After hearing the news that an 18-year-old identified herself as the missing teenager, Glendale police said they immediately responded to the Montana town.
Officers said they verified Navarro’s identity, and that she has been extremely cooperative with authorities.
‘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,’ said Santiago.
‘Since her disappearance, our men and women here have been working tirelessly around the clock to not only bring closure to this family, but to make sure Alicia gets everything she possibly needs.’
Nunez had long suspected that her daughter was abducted by someone she met online gaming, though police were never able to find any proof of that
He added that Navarro ‘by all accounts appears to be in good spirits’ and ‘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.’
Navarro has since had a brief video call with her mother, said Trent Steele, president of the Anti-Predator Project.
‘They have their own healing journey to go on. They’ve got stuff they have to do first,’ Steele said.
‘She is safe. I hope people wait for the facts of the case before making their assumptions.’
Over the years, Nuñez partnered with various private investigative services, put up billboards, appeared on television programs and used social media in her efforts to find her daughter.
She had suspected Alicia may have been abducted by someone she met online gaming.
‘I’m more than 90 percent sure that my daughter met this person online,’ she claimed at the time.
The mother said her daughter was a pretty cautious person, so it would have been unusual for her to be easily lured.
‘Knowing the way my daughter’s personality is, I don’t think that she would have fallen for that,’ Nunez said. ‘This person probably took a while to be able to gain [her] trust.’
But Glendale police have never found any evidence of an abduction, and said at a news conference last week that Navarro was able to come and go as she please.
She does not face any criminal charges, they added. ‘She is not in any kind of trouble,’ Santiago said.