Mary Begay Missing Person Case

Sep 22, 2017

Mar 18, 2024

Mary

Begay

89

19

62 inches

65 inches

100 lbs

120 lbs

American Indian / Alaska Native

Female

In the summer of 1956, a young 19-year-old Navajo woman named Mary Margaret Begay ventured from her home in Leupp, Arizona, to work at the Bright Angel Lodge in the heart of Grand Canyon National Park. The exact date of her last contact is noted as August 1, 1956. Mary, a member of the Navajo Nation, was in regular communication with her family while employed at the park. Her disappearance has left a void of unanswered questions for decades. The last known sighting of Mary was by a friend who reported seeing her get into a vehicle with two men. The circumstances surrounding Mary's disappearance are unsettling. On the day she was last seen, she and some friends had gone to the Grand Canyon Inn for drinks after her shift. It was after this outing that a friend witnessed her leaving with two unidentified men. Tragically, she was never heard from again. When Mary did not show up for her subsequent shifts at the Bright Angel Lodge, her employment was terminated, and her personal belongings were packed away. It wasn't until her family came to visit her and found she was gone that they realized something was terribly wrong. There is a discrepancy in the reporting of the year she went missing, with some sources stating 1957. The family reported Mary missing to the Navajo Nation authorities, but it took a considerable amount of time for the Coconino County Sheriff's Office to become aware of the case. The investigation into her disappearance was hampered by the delayed reporting and the sparse details of her last known moments. While some of her friends speculated that she might have voluntarily left to start a new life elsewhere, perhaps in Los Angeles or Oregon, law enforcement considered this unlikely given her consistent contact with her family. The case of Mary Margaret Begay is a somber reminder of a young life interrupted, a family left without answers, and a mystery that endures within the vastness of the Grand Canyon. The overview of the case is one of a young woman who vanished after being seen with two unknown men, with the subsequent investigation facing significant challenges due to the time that had passed before it was widely reported.

Aug 01, 1956

Grand Canyon National Park

Arizona

Coconino County

Unknown

34049

Coconino County Sheriff's Office

Flagstaff

Arizona

Coconino County

86001

Joseph Sumner

Investigator

911 East Sawmill Road, Arizona

9287744523

County

Law Enforcement

S19-01429

Coconino County Sheriff's Office

Black

Brown

Brown

07/31/2026