{"id":2133,"date":"2026-06-22T11:33:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T11:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2133"},"modified":"2026-06-22T11:33:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T11:33:05","slug":"family-speaks-out-on-cold-case-five-years-after-navajo-elder-ella-mae-begays-disappearance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2133","title":{"rendered":"Family speaks out on cold case five years after Navajo elder Ella Mae Begay\u2019s disappearance"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PHOENIX \u2014 In an update on an Arizona cold case, this week marks five years since Navajo elder Ella Mae Begay vanished from her home. Her family says they\u2019re waiting for answers, and a new development is adding heartbreak to an already painful anniversary.<\/p>\n

Read more MOST ACCURATE FORECAST: Extreme heat alerts in the Valley this week<\/a><\/p>\n

For Gerald Begay, five years without his mother has felt like a lifetime.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s been a long journey trying to find her, she is still missing to this day,\u201d Begay said.<\/p>\n

The 62-year-old grandmother and renowned Navajo rug weaver vanished from Sweetwater on June 15, 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just want to bring her home, to the have the burial, and you know that will be closure, at least some type of closure,\u201d Begay said.<\/p>\n

On Monday, the fifth anniversary of Begay\u2019s disappearance, the family learned Preston Tolth was released from federal prison.<\/p>\n

Court documents show Tolth accepted a plea agreement for robbery this spring. In the plea, he acknowledged beating Begay, stealing her truck, and leaving her on the roadside.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor something like that to happen on the same day, it definitely is a stab in the heart,\u201d Begay said. \u201cI cannot understand why no one even reached out to let me know ahead of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Federal Bureau of Prisons says Tolth was released early due to good conduct. His public defender confirmed the conditions but had no other comment.<\/p>\n

Read more Buckeye police arrest man after deadly shooting involving cousins<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe system can explain the statutes, it can explain the sentencing credits, and it can explain the release calculations. But what it still can’t explain is where is Ella Mae?\u201d Bernadine Beyale, 4Corners K-9 Search and Rescue, said.<\/p>\n

Beyale, who has organized searches for Ella Mae, says a bigger question remains.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf one of the most profiled indigenous missing person cases in the country can end with a family still waiting for answers, then we need to ask ourselves a hard question. Are we learning enough from these cases to make sure this doesn’t happen to the next family?\u201d Beyale said.<\/p>\n

For Begay, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples crisis isn\u2019t abstract. He says that years before his mother disappeared, his father was killed violently.<\/p>\n

\u201cLosing two parents, a mom and a dad, to violence, I cannot explain to you how that feels,\u201d Begay said. \u201cThis system, they’re aiding to this crisis, this pandemic that’s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now Begay says he will keep pushing for systemic change, and speaking out until his mother is found.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to keep her name alive,\u201d Begay said. \u201cAt the end of the day, that’s all we have as victims, and we cannot just let their names and their stories disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Man in custody after shooting leaves 2 injured near 19th and Peoria avenues<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The son of missing Navajo elder Ella Mae Begay is speaking out after a new development on the anniversary of his mother\u2019s disappearance<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2132,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"yoast_head":"\nFamily speaks out on cold case five years after Navajo elder Ella Mae Begay\u2019s disappearance - Arizona Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2133\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Family speaks out on cold case five years after Navajo elder Ella Mae Begay\u2019s disappearance - 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