PHOENIX (AP) — The last person known to have seen Navajo elder Ella Mae Begay alive has been accused of burglary in an unrelated incident, raising questions about whether he will be sent back to federal prison in Begay’s disappearance.
Preston Tolth is the only person ever charged and convicted in connection with the 2021 disappearance of Begay, a weaver and grandmother of nine from a remote community on the Navajo Nation who has never been found. He acknowledged stealing her truck, beating her and leaving her on the side of the road.
Her case has become emblematic of the heartache felt across Indian Country when loved ones go missing or are killed. Begay’s photo appears at marches. Her name is regularly invoked at rallies calling attention to the crisis…