The true crime community was rocked when word came out that Alicia Navarro, a missing Arizona teen was “found” safe in Montana.
On July 23rd, Alicia Navarro walked into a police station about 1400 miles from where she originally went missing. Now 18 years old, Alicia asked to be removed from the missing persons list.
Alicia was just shy of her 15th birthday when she went missing. She left a note for her family letting them know that she was running away but she promised she would be back. She ended the note with an apology.
Her mother immediately suspected that Alicia met someone online. Alicia was on the autism spectrum and found in-person social interactions overwhelming. She preferred her online gaming community of friends to talk to in the comfort of her home.
While we are all overjoyed that this case seems to have a happy ending, there is still a lot of confusion about whether or not Alicia was actually safe during the time she was away from her family.
News reports state that Alicia was found safe, happy, and healthy but her family believes that she was lured away by someone in the online community. Since she was gone for so long, they believed it was an adult.
If you want to find out more about Alicia’s background and disappearance, take a look at our recommendations below!
The Vanished
Episode – Alicia Navarro
If you are interested in learning about Alicia’s background and hearing from the mouths of the people that knew Alicia the most then check out the episode “The Vanished” covered back in May of 2020.
One of the many reasons that I love this podcast is that the host narrates the podcast but allows the family members and friends of the victims to do most of the talking
In this episode, you’ll hear from Alicia’s mom, grandma, therapist, and more. They go into detail about Alicia’s personality and life growing up. You’ll also hear about the events that happened on the night she went missing.
Voices for Justice
Episode – Alicia Navarro
The host of this podcast, Sarah Turney, just may be the best person to cover a story like Alicia’s. Back in 2001 Sarah’s sister, Alissa Turney, went missing.
Alissa Turney is suspected to be deceased at this point and their father is currently on trial for her murder.
Sarah takes her time to point out all of the details leading up to Alicia’s disappearance down to her meal of chicken nuggets the night before. Alicia’s mother is also interviewed in the podcast so she clarifies a lot of speculation during the episode.
Crime Junkie
Episode – MISSING: Alicia Navarro
If you are a TRUE true crime fan, then you know all about Crime Junkie. Ashley Flowers certainly has a gift for telling true crime stories and nothing changes with the episode on Alicia Navarro.
While you don’t hear from Alicia’s family members in this podcast episode, you do hear from someone from the Anti-Predator Project that worked closely with Alicia’s mother.
And Then They Were Gone
Episode – Alicia Navarro
This podcast is another great option if you like more of a conversational style podcast. The hosts can deviate slightly off-topic, but they have a clear script to talk about the facts of the case.
It’s very clear that hosts Kona and Ethan prioritize presenting the details of the case and that they heavily researched.
Cuento Crimen
Episode – DESAPARICION/MISSING: Alicia Navarro
Cuento Crimen is a unique podcas because the hosts deliver this podcast in Spanglish! The hosts of this podcast started it because they realized that no one was talking about these cases in Spanish.
Alicia is Hispanic so I think it’s really cool that there is a podcast that is telling her story in Spanish. Looping in Spanish speakers could have really helped spread the word of Alicia’s disappearance.
If you have any other podcast recommendations that cover Alicia’s disappearance, let us know in the comments below!
If you have any information on the disappearance of Alicia Navarro, please contact the Glendale Police Department at (623) 930-3000.