On November 30, 2015, 63-year-old Maranny Marena Hatalie Holiday was found murdered beneath a tree in the southeastern corner of Utah on the Navajo Nation. She had sustained fatal gunshot wounds. Investigators say the violence grew out of a dispute over land that began with an argument in Mexican Water, Arizona, though the killing took place across the state line in Utah.

A 45-year-old man, Timothy Lee Smith, was later located after his truck was found stuck in the San Juan County desert near Mexican Hat. Smith reportedly walked about 30 miles through the desert before surrendering to authorities without a struggle. In January 2016 a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging him with first-degree murder in Indian country and being a felon in possession of a firearm; the murder charge carried a potential life sentence if convicted.

Anyone who knew Maranny Holiday, witnessed the dispute in Mexican Water, or has information about the events that led to her death is asked to come forward.