HAVRE, MT — 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 ABC15 that a person was questioned by authorities and that person has been released.
On Friday afternoon, Glendale police said their detectives went to Havre and served a search warrant after Alicia identified herself at the Havre police station.
RELATED: Alicia Navarro, missing since 2019 out of Glendale, found alive in Montana
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.
