The last person known to have seen Navajo elder Ella Mae Begay alive has been arrested on burglary charges, a development that raises questions about whether he could be sent back to federal prison and whether any violations of his supervised release will be pursued.
Preston Tolth, 27, was arrested in Phoenix on Tuesday after police responded to a home break-in call. Officers found him about a block away wearing clothing matching the suspect’s description and carrying a pocket knife. He now faces a single charge of burglary in Maricopa County.
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.
Tolth was released from federal prison in June, marking the exact date five years after Begay vanished and two years earlier than his sentence was scheduled to end. The Bureau of Prisons cited a federal statute that counts time served after the commission of a crime but before sentencing, including on unrelated charges, in releasing him early. He was sent to a transitional housing facility in Phoenix.
Under the terms of his plea agreement in federal court, Tolth was not to commit any additional crimes while on supervised release. He also was barred from possessing dangerous weapons.
Prior to his arrest on burglary charges, problems had already emerged with his compliance. An employee at Phoenix Oasis, the transitional housing facility where Tolth was staying, said Tolth returned to the facility drunk on July 4 in violation of program rules. Tolth left on his own after refusing to be transported to a medical center, and the facility informed his probation officer.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona is aware of his arrest. A spokesperson said “There is a process for handling violations,” but declined to provide further details. No attorney has been listed for Tolth in court records related to the burglary charge, and his public defender in the federal case did not respond to requests for comment.
Tolth’s case has been marked by significant legal complications. He was set to face trial in 2024 on charges of carjacking and assault, but a federal judge ruled his confession inadmissible, saying he had been unlawfully coerced by an FBI agent who lied about evidence. This ruling weakened prosecutors’ case substantially. The judge then rejected an initial plea agreement that would have allowed Tolth to serve only three years with credit for time served.
Eventually, Tolth pleaded guilty to robbery in May and was sentenced to five years in prison with credit for three years already served, which allowed for his June release. Under that agreement, prosecutors dropped an assault charge and agreed not to prosecute him in the future if Begay’s case develops.
Begay was reported missing in June 2021 from her home in Sweetwater, Arizona, a small community on the northern part of the Navajo Nation. Her case has become emblematic of the broader crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people. Her photo appears at marches and rallies calling attention to the crisis. Advocates have compared her case to that of Gabby Petito, a young white woman whose disappearance that same summer received significantly greater media coverage and led to the discovery of her remains.
Tolth, whose father was dating Begay’s sister, was identified as a person of interest within days of her disappearance. He initially denied involvement but later confessed to stealing her pickup truck with her in it, punching her repeatedly and leaving her on the side of the road. He sold the truck for money and drugs.
Despite more than five years passing since Begay disappeared, her body has never been found and no additional charges or convictions have been made in the case. Her family has organized searches, walked across the country to raise awareness and urged courts not to release Tolth without him leading investigators to Begay’s location.
The burglary arrest now threatens Tolth’s freedom and potentially provides federal authorities with grounds to revoke his supervised release and return him to federal custody. The outcome will depend on how prosecutors and federal officials choose to handle the violations of his release conditions.