Niece of missing Navajo woman charged in separate kidnapping case
- Seraphine Warren charged with kidnapping man in Arizona in April 2021
- Warren's aunt Ella Mae Begay went missing in June 2021
- One person has been charged in connection with aunt's disappearance
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(NewsNation) — The niece of a missing Navajo Nation elder has been arrested and charged in a separate kidnapping case.
Seraphine Warren and three other family members were indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this month in a 2021 kidnapping that occurred just months before Warren’s aunt went missing, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Disrtict of New Mexico announced.
Warren is the niece of Ella Mae Begay, a 62-year-old Navajo Nation woman known for her unique style of woven rugs who has been missing since June 2021. Her Ford pickup truck was seen driving away from her home early one morning in the remote community of Sweetwater on the Navajo Nation, not far from where Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado meet.
In an effort to get help with search efforts, Warren walked all the way from Arizona to Washington, D.C.
Warren spoke to NewsNation in May about the search for her aunt.
“I said, you put us through pain for a year and 10 months. Just tell us where my aunt is,” Warren said.
Now, she and other family members, who live in Utah, are accused of driving to Arizona and assaulting a man in April 2021 before taking him to New Mexico, where they let him go, KTVK/KPHO-TV reported. According to the indictment, Warren hit the man, identified as John Doe, on top of the head with a blunt force object.
The group then shot him with paintball guns, handcuffed him, put him in the back of their truck and drove him to New Mexico, the U.S. attorney said. Court documents also state they brought a metal baton, pepper spray, and a handgun, KTVK/KPHO reported.
One person has been charged in connection with Begay’s disappearance.
Preston Henry Tolth, 23, was indicted in April on assault and carjacking charges. Federal prosecutors alleged that Tolth assaulted Begay, took her pickup truck and drove it across state lines.
The investigation into Begay’s disappearance is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s efforts to address cases involving missing and slain Native Americans. Navajo Nation authorities had previously identified Tolth as a person of interest in the case.
NewsNation special projects producer Carrie Perricone and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
