NYC mother attacked on Arizona trail, arrested after phone trace
A 27-year-old New York woman was slashed in the neck and repeatedly punched by a convicted felon during a birthday hike on the Havasupai Reservation, and the attacker was arrested the next day.
During a birthday hike on the Havasupai Reservation in Arizona, 27-year-old Alexis Rowan asked tribe member Taylor Nardo Paya for directions after covering eight of the ten miles planned. Paya attacked her from behind, slashing her neck and punching her repeatedly, an incident recorded by a Ring security camera. Rowan sustained ten stitches to her neck and three to her left hand before a nearby resident heard her pleas and brought her inside for safety.
Her mother, Tricia Rowan, described the assault as an unprovoked, violent act on a Facebook group. Reservation police traced the thief’s location by pinging Rowan’s stolen cell phone and arrested Paya the following day. Because the crime occurred on tribal land, Paya now faces a federal charge of assault with a deadly weapon. He has a prior robbery conviction from 2015 and served a five-year sentence after pleading guilty in 2016.
Why it matters
The case highlights safety concerns for tourists on tribal lands and the use of technology to apprehend violent offenders.
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