Navajo Girl Ashlynne Mike Abducted, Killed After Stranger Invites Her To Movies — Suspect Arrested

A boy named Ian Mike last saw his 11-year-old cousin Ashlynne alive Monday afternoon.

The Navajo girl, her brother, and Ian were dropped off at a bus stop a quarter mile from the siblings’ home in Fruitland, New Mexico, when a man in a van — believed to be Tom Begaye, 27 — pulled up in a van and offered to take the kids to a movie, ABC 15 reported.

Ian’s father, Shawn, said his son was approached by the driver while he was riding his bike, the Albuquerque Journal reported. When he declined, the man tried to give him a ride home; he said no again. The brother had declined the movie invitation too, but Ashlynne agreed or was somehow lured into the van.

Happening today: Ashlynne Mike's accused abductor and killer, Tom Begaye, expected in courthttps://t.co/oXDxrKnOls pic.twitter.com/44itcjfQtM

— KOB 4 (@KOB4) May 4, 2016

As the driver gave up on Ian and drove away, he saw his cousin waving out the window and smiling.

The chain of events after that point is unclear. Ian either escaped or was released and was later spotted by a passing driver. He told his family that the kidnapper took Ashlynne to a stone monument called Shiprock and over a hill, and he later returned with her jacket.

Shawn is understandably relieved that his son escaped abduction.

“You would not believe how thankful I am. Thank God that he had the wisdom to just say no. I held him so close last night … I told him God was with him and that’s how he managed to get free, and to just keep praying for his sister,” he said. “I can’t believe how anyone would be so cruel.”

An account from NBC News is a little different. It said Mike was kidnapped with her 9-year-old brother, who was later found walking near the monument. That brother, ABC 15 noted, may have seen the abductor return from Shiprock with a crowbar under his jacket and without Ashlynne. The boy ran for more than two miles toward the highway before he was found by passersby and taken to police.

With the Mike girl missing, the Navajo community mobilized to find her. An Amber Alert was issued at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, although she disappeared Monday afternoon around 2:30 p.m.; the FBI hasn’t explained this time gap.

About 100 people searched for Mike. Graham Beyale, 26, explained that the Navajo culture has a “concept of kinship… I didn’t know her personally, but the drive I had to help try and find her would basically be the same drive I would have with my own little sister.”

Kidnapped Navajo child Ashlynne Mike found dead in Shiprock; suspected abductor arrested https://t.co/bP3cN4QYJT pic.twitter.com/xxJCUN8gwt

— Shaun Griswold (@shaun505) May 4, 2016

As people searched for Ashlynne, her father, Gary, remained hopeful she’d be found. Sadly, Tuesday around noon, her body was discovered by a searcher on an ATV by the monument, on Navajo Nation land, 20 miles away from where the girl was taken. Shawn Mike recalled he was in “no condition to talk. He was freaking out, very emotional.”

Ashlynne’s cause of death hasn’t been determined. Graham, who helped search for Mike, said finding her dead was “really difficult.”

“The picture they put out looks like how my younger sister looked when she was younger. It was really tough.”

The FBI hasn’t specified how the suspect they arrested late Tuesday is connected to Ashlynne’s abduction and murder. That man, Begaye, 27, is from nearby Waterflow. The suspect had been described as a “light-skinned Native American man in his 20s or 30s with short, dark hair, a teardrop tattoo under his left eye and pierced ears.”

Charges haven’t been specified. Ashlynne is described as a quiet, kind, fun-loving girl who played in the school band. She was in fifth grade.

Soon after Mike was found, her mother posted messages to her daughter on Facebook.

“Tears are falling. Mommy loves and misses you my sweet little angel. Mommy will never stop loving you… sending hugs to heaven.”

[Photo by Mary Hudetz/AP Images]