Missing Navajo girl found dead may have been hit by car, FBI says

COALMINE, Ariz. (AZFamily/Gray News) — Federal investigators released a new theory Wednesday for what happened to a missing 8-year-old from the Navajo Nation who was found dead in Arizona last month.

The FBI now says 8-year-old Maleeka “Mollie” Boone was likely struck by a vehicle on the evening of Jan. 15.

Investigators believe the driver may have hit the girl without realizing it and may have been in a larger vehicle, possibly a pickup truck.

Mollie was last seen playing around 6 p.m. on Jan. 15 near Cedar Loop in the Coalmine Navajo Housing Authority area, about 17 miles southeast of Tuba City.

Investigators believe she was walking home when a passing driver hit her.

A Turquoise Alert was issued the next morning, and her body was found shortly after that in a field in the Coalmine Navajo Housing Authority neighborhood at 8:30 a.m.

Authorities are asking for anyone who may have information on the cars that were traveling on Cedar Loop Road within the Coalmine area between 5:50 p.m. and 6:20 p.m. on Jan. 15 to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for information.