Rick Nez, president of the Navajo’s San Juan chapter, said Wednesday he attended the hearing on behalf of Ashlynne’s family.
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It wasn’t until 2:30 a.m. Tuesday that officials sent out an Amber Alert.
USA Today reports that, for many in the Navajo Nation, the arrest is “too little too late”.
Ashylnne Mike, 11, is seen in a photo provided by the Central Consolidated School District.
“My son said he just waved”, he said.
Tips flooded in from across the reservation that spans parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. He was described as Native American, in his 30s, and wearing a baseball cap. The abductor later returned without Ashlynne and told Ian to go home, the boy said.
Authorities say Begaye confessed to abducting and killing Ashlynne Mike. Sweat lodges are considered sacred places.
‘We were very hopeful that we would find her in good shape, ‘ Delmar said. He admitted to sexually assaulting her before hitting her with the tire iron until she stopped moving, according to the document.
The girl’s 9-year-old brother, who had jumped into the van hoping to protect her – was now distraught and scared. Tom Begaye allegedly told investigators he meant to have sex with the girl.
Begaye was charged with murder, kidnapping, kidnapping of a minor and committing a crime on an Indian reservation, NBC News reported. Her younger brother joined her.
Begaye, who does not yet have an attorney, allegedly told investigators he drove the siblings out to a remote area along a dirt road. The brother later was freed.
The boy was found later Monday after running to a local highway, and a frantic search for Ashlynne ensured.
SHIPROCK, N.M. (AP) – On the far side of a desert hilltop in the shadow of the Shiprock Pinnacle, a towering monolith sacred to the Navajo Nation, the stranger ignored the cries of an 11-year-old girl.
Begaye, 27, of Waterflow, was led into the courtroom at the Farmington Municipal Court in an orange jumpsuit, leg shackles and handcuffs.
Begaye was quiet as he faced the victim’s family and other tribal members in court.
As he was taken away from the Municipal Courthouse in an SUV, people outside yelled profanity. He was driving a maroon van with a roof rack and no hubcaps.
“We’re leaving no stone unturned”, FBI Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade told reporters before the arrest.
An Amber Alert was issued Tuesday for Ashlynn, who was believed to be kidnapped into a red/maroon mini van with a New Mexico license plate around 2 p.m. on Monday. However, tribal President Russell Begaye said in the same statement that the tribe “needs to implement an effective response system in which modern technology is utilized more effectively”. Begaye is set to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge B. Paul Briones in Farmington on Wednesday.
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Ashlynne Mike was abducted in the Fruitland area Monday afternoon, and searchers found her body Tuesday morning south of the monolithic rock that gives the community of Shiprock its name.
