SEVIER COUNTY, Utah — The California man accused of taking a 13-year-old Aurora girl across state lines in November before he was arrested in Utah formally waived extradition to Colorado to face charges.
Navarro Cathey pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drug charge in Utah on Dec. 21 and was sentenced Tuesday morning to credit for time served. He's also ordered to pay a $750 fine with payments of $50 a month set to begin once he's released from Colorado custody.
The drug charges stemmed from a traffic stop in Sevier County, Utah after an AMBER Alert was issued for the missing Aurora girl who was found with Cathey, according to police.
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Cathey faces charges of internet luring of a child, sexual exploitation of a child, and internet exploitation of a child in Colorado in connection with the disappearance of the girl. She was reported missing on Nov. 23 from her home by her mother, who said her daughter was last seen around 2 p.m., Aurora Police said.
A week prior, on Nov. 16, the girl's mother confronted her about a package she received that contained a cellphone, an affidavit in support of Cathey's arrest says. That resulted in a fight between them and her mother eventually contacting police, the affidavit says.
The mom reported to police that her daughter had received a cellphone from an "unknown person" whom she had been talking to over the internet, the affidavit says.
The girl's mom said she would give police information about her daughter's social media accounts and emails, as well as information about the Amazon package sent to her daughter, according to the affidavit.
On Nov. 23, the girl's mom notified police that her daughter was missing. At that time, detectives were provided with a string of emails between the girl and the suspect, who identified himself as Nathaniel McKinley in the emails and said he was 28.
According to the affidavit, the conversations "quickly" became sexual in nature, and the man arranged to meet the girl, who said in the email exchanges that she was 13.
Investigators reached out to Amazon about the package that was sent to the girl and determined which account purchased the phone, the affidavit says. That led them to Cathey, whose middle name is Nathaniel. From there, detectives found a vehicle registered to him and learned that a Vail police officer had run the plate for it at about 7:30 a.m. Nov. 24.
About 4:40 p.m. Nov. 24, Aurora Police were notified by the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) that they had stopped the vehicle and that Cathey was in custody. UHP said the girl was safe and had been found under some blankets in the back seat of the car, the affidavit says.
Cathey remains in custody in the Sevier County jail in Utah but formally waived extradition on Dec. 21. With his case in Utah now resolved, it's up to Colorado law enforcement to bring him back to face charges here.
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