The missing Arizona teen who reemerged at a tiny Montana police station this week four years after her disappearance has yet to reunite with her mother in person, the family’s private investigate said Thursday.
Alicia Navarro, who went missing in 2019, and her mother, Jessica Nuñez, have only “spoken briefly” after the 18-year-old turned up at the police station about 40 miles away from the Canadian border — but the family is “thrilled” that she has been found safe, private investigator Trent Steel exclusively told The Post.
“I think this is a happier ending than any of us thought,” Steel told The Post. “We’re absolutely thrilled. This is a win.”
The investigator also said that 18-year-old Navarro has “not made her intentions clear” on whether or not she’ll return to her hometown of Glendale, Arizona.
Navarro left Glendale in September 2019, only leaving her family a note that read: “I ran away. I will be back. I swear. I’m sorry.”
Nuñez has been on an endless search for her daughter since and created a Facebook page called Finding Alicia to help find her.
Nuñez posted an update in the Facebook group announcing the reappearance of her daughter, calling the moment a “miracle.”
“For everyone who has missing loved ones, I want you to use this case as an example,” she said in a Facebook video. “Miracles do exist. Never lose hope and always fight.”
Since her reappearance, Glendale Police have classified Navarro, who went missing when she was 14, as a “victim.”
“To us, she is a victim, and we need to provide services to her,” said Glendale police Lt. Scott Waite, adding that she did not require medical attention.
She spoke with Arizona police over a FaceTime call, where she thanked them for offering her help and telling police her disappearance “started as a runaway situation,” ABC News reported.
“Did anybody hurt you in any way?” an officer asks the girl during the FaceTime call.
“No, nobody hurt me,” the teen replied.
The cop explained to Navarro that his goal is to make sure that she is safe, to which the visibly overwhelmed 18-year-old replied: “I understand that.”
Glendale Police confirmed Navarro was who she said she was.
Navarro has been cooperative with the investigation and is “very apologetic” for the pain she has put her mother through, Glendale public safety communications manager Jose Santiago said.