Five years after a Navajo elder vanished, the man who robbed her was released from prison

By Savannah Peters EDGEWOOD, N.M. (AP) — Five years to the day that Navajo elder Ella Mae Begay disappeared from her home in a remote corner of Arizona, the man who acknowledged beating her, stealing her truck and leaving her on the roadside is free from prison. Preston Tolth pleaded guilty to robbing Begay and was sentenced on May 8 to five years in prison with credit for three years already served. He was released Monday, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Begay’s relatives, who expected Tolth to remain in custody until at least 2028, said they were shocked when they heard Monday. T…