PHOENIX — *Editor's Note: The above video is from an earlier broadcast.*
Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges in Arizona that are related to the disappearance of a Navajo Nation woman in 2021.
An indictment was recently filed against 23-year-old Preston Henry Tolth that accuses him of carjacking a Ford F-150 truck belonging to Ella Mae Begay, a 62-year-old Sweetwater woman who was reported missing on June 15, 2021.
Tolth has also been charged with assaulting the victim. The defendant was arrested on Monday, court records show.
The New Mexico man was previously named a "person of interest" by Navajo Nation police in Begay's disappearance, according to KOB4 News.
If convicted, Tolth could face several years in prison.
His indictment only charges Tolth with carjacking and assault. Prosecutors said the investigation into Begay's case is ongoing and are still referring to it as a "missing person investigation."
“This indictment is an important first step in determining the truth about what happened to an elderly victim on the Navajo Nation,” said U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino. “The indictment charges the defendant with carjacking and assault; the investigation is ongoing.”
An attorney representing Begay's family said Tuesday that the announcement of Tolth's indictment was a "bittersweet moment," according to a post made on a Facebook page dedicated to finding Begay.
A year after Begay disappeared, her niece began walking from the Navajo Nation to Washington D.C. to raise awareness for cases of missing or murdered Indigenous people across the U.S.
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