As the sun faded, the stranger returned alone with a crowbar tucked in his jacket; the girl was nowhere to be seen. Her body was found hours later.<\/p>\n
But as he came back, her distraught and scared 9-year-old brother started to run and kept running for more than 2 miles toward the lights he could see on the highway in the distance until a passer-by scooped him up and took him to police.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was so tired and just crying and crying for his sister. It was really hard for the FBI to get any information from him,\u201d said the children\u2019s aunt, Darrell Foster-Joe, as she recounted what the boy eventually told authorities.<\/p>\n
The siblings were abducted after being dropped off at a bus stop after school about a quarter-mile from their home Monday afternoon. A man in a van offered to take them to watch a movie. The brother and another boy \u2014 a relative of the children \u2014 said no, but Ashlynne was somehow lured into the van.<\/p>\n
Not wanting his sister to go alone, her brother jumped in too.<\/p>\n
The abduction sparked a frantic air and ground search. But the immediate search was focused on the opposite side of the highway from where authorities needed to be looking.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Ashlynne\u2019s body was found after about 100 people from the community turned out to help look for her.<\/p>\n
A 27-year-old man identified as Tom Begaye, of Waterflow, New Mexico, was arrested hours later in connection with the girl\u2019s death and disappearance, FBI spokesman Frank Fisher said.<\/p>\n
Shawn Mike, Ashlynne\u2019s cousin and the father of the boy who stayed behind, said he didn\u2019t believe the family knew Begaye. Mike said the man who took Ashlynne and her brother tried twice to get his son to get into the vehicle with the other children.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son said he just waved,\u201d Shawn Mike said. \u201cHe said the vehicle just sped off, and as it was driving off he just saw Ashlynne waving toward him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heartbroken, the community paused Tuesday night for a moment of silence. Hundreds of residents packed the Navajo Nation\u2019s San Juan Chapter House, a tiny community hall south of Shiprock, while hundreds more stood outside of the building in support of Ashlynne\u2019s family. Her father sat silently at the front of the room, listening as the girl\u2019s principal remembered her as a kind child who was a part of the school band, and local leaders offered condolences.<\/p>\n
Ashlynne, who played xylophone, had performed just last week, said her cousin Shawn Mike.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a dad, you would like to see your daughter grow up and see her have a family of her own one day. And unfortunately, Ashlynne won\u2019t experience any of this,\u201d he told The Associated Press after the vigil.<\/p>\n
Residents also gathered for a vigil in nearby Shiprock, the largest town on the Navajo Nation.<\/p>\n
Federal authorities remained tightlipped about their investigation, even after Begaye\u2019s arrest. He is expected to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge B. Paul Briones in Farmington on Wednesday, according to the FBI.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear how long it could take for medical investigators to determine the cause of the girl\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
Tips flooded in from across the reservation that spans parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah as well as the San Juan Chapter where Ashlynne lived.<\/p>\n
Authorities described the kidnapper as having a teardrop tattoo under his left eye and two earrings. He drove a maroon van with a luggage rack but no hubcaps.<\/p>\n
A fifth-grader, Ashlynne attended Ojo Amarillo Elementary School in Fruitland, New Mexico. Her aunt described her as a fun-loving, quiet girl. She sometimes visited Foster-Joe at her home in nearby Hogback to play games with her cousins.<\/p>\n
An Amber Alert for Ashlynne was issued about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. It wasn\u2019t clear why it took hours for authorities to get word out about the abduction, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade declined to answer related questions during a news conference.<\/p>\n
Community members who heard about the abduction via radio and social media congregated to join in the search Monday around 9 p.m. and again Tuesday morning, said Graham Binaal, a Shiprock resident who helped spread the word about the search.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce someone put it out there that there was this missing child, then the word just spread from there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez joined Navajo President Russell Begaye in the call for prayers for the family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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