The FBI said Tuesday they have arrested a 27-year-old man in connection with the kidnapping of an 11-year-old Navajo girl whose body was found south of Shiprock, New Mexico, on Tuesday morning.
Tom Begaye of Waterflow, New Mexico, was arrested, the FBI said. Begaye is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge B. Paul Briones in Farmington on Wednesday, according to the FBI.
Ashlynne Mike, 11, and her 9-year-old brother, Ian Mike, were picked up in their front yard in Fruitland, New Mexico, by a stranger after 4 p.m. Monday, an FBI spokesman said. The boy was dropped off at 7 p.m. unhurt and alone on Navajo Road 13. Several agencies and community members then began a frantic search for Ashlynne.
An Amber Alert was issued 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. Her body was found later the same morning 6 to 8 miles south of Shiprock monument.
Chapter President Chili Yazzie said he can’t recall anything like this ever happening in his community.
“It’s very unsettling,” Yazzie said. “The community is very much at a loss. We just have the greatest sympathies for the family.”
The San Juan Chapter planned a candlelight vigil to support the family.
Associated Press contributed to this report.