Highlights

Preston Tolth, the only person charged and convicted in connection with the 2021 disappearance of Navajo elder Ella Mae Begay, was arrested by Phoenix police on July 29 on a burglary charge, raising the prospect that he will be returned to federal prison under the terms of his supervised release.

Tolth, 27, had been released from federal prison in June 2026, five years to the day Begay vanished and two years before 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, as the basis for the early release. He was sent to a transitional housing facility in Phoenix.

Phoenix police responded to a call about a home break-in and found Tolth approximately a block from the scene, wearing clothing that matched the description of the suspect and carrying a pocket knife, according to court records. The U.S. Marshals Service had an active warrant out for his arrest at the time he was taken into custody. He faces a single burglary charge in Maricopa County. Court records did not list an attorney for him, and his public defender in the federal case did not respond to a request for comment.

Under the terms of his federal plea agreement, Tolth was barred from committing additional crimes while on supervised release and from possessing dangerous weapons. Esther Winne, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona, confirmed the office is aware of the arrest. "There is a process for handling violations," Winne said in an email, declining further comment.

Gerald Foxworth, an employee at Phoenix Oasis where Tolth was staying, said Tolth returned to the facility drunk on July 4 in violation of program rules, refused to be transported to a medical center, and left on his own. Foxworth said the facility informed Tolth's probation officer at that time.

Begay was a weaver and grandmother of nine from a remote community on the Navajo Nation. She disappeared in 2021 and has never been found. Tolth acknowledged stealing her truck, beating her, and leaving her on the side of the road. Her case has become a recurring reference point at rallies calling attention to missing and murdered Indigenous people, with her photo appearing at marches and her name invoked at public demonstrations.

Gerald Begay, the eldest of Begay's three children, said the family was unaware Tolth had left transitional housing. "(Federal officials) made the decision to release this person. Now he's out here hurting people," Begay said. "This could have ended far worse."

Who decides whether Tolth returns to federal prison?

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona confirmed it is aware of the arrest and said there is a process for handling supervised-release violations, but declined to elaborate. A new criminal charge while on supervised release can trigger a revocation hearing in federal court, where a judge determines whether the defendant is returned to custody to serve the remainder of the original sentence.

The Associated Press, whose reporting was carried by Arizona's Family and independently corroborated by ABC News, first reported the arrest. A federal supervised-release revocation proceeding, if initiated, would be handled in U.S. District Court in Arizona.

Sources

Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.

  1. AZ Family (3TV/CBS5) retrieved 01/08/2026 00:29

Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 01/08/2026 00:29. Every claim traces to a source.