Jeff Dunsavage's Blog (589)

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has published an official warning about the increasing number of missing people in Costa Rica on its travel advice website http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/north-central-america/costa-rica

The new text…

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Mariana Corrigan, a Mexican citizen married to an American citizen living in Mission, Tex., has disappeared on Highway 2 between Nuevo Laredo and Reynosa. The family has only had one phone call since she went missing in May 4, demanding the ownership papers on the Tahoe that she was driving. Story says FBI can't get involved because she is Mexican citizen, even though her husband and four children are all U.S. citizens. What's their explanation, then, for not getting involved in any…

The remains of a young woman were found in the Colombia district of Guatemala City on May 5. A boy found the head of woman, estimated to be between 18 to 20 years of age in a plastic bag. Nearby, the woman’s severed limbs and torso had been found earlier in the week in Zone 18 of the capital of Guatemala. Found at a telephone booth, the victim’s head showed signs of torture and abuse. Authorities surmise that the woman’s death may be related to a spate of extortion by powerful criminal gangs…

Despite a $14,000 reward and FBI involvement -- something extremely rare in cases of U.S. citizens missing abroad -- Aubrey Sacco has not been found, a year after she disappeared while hiking in Nepal. Aubrey was, 23, was last seen April 22, 2010, in a small village known as Lama Hotel on the Langtang trail. Park records show she entered the Langtang…

Here is the U.S. Embassy's poster seeking help finding Hugh Graham Murray, a U.S. citizen now missing in Ecuador. Please share widely. 

I must say, the embassy in Ecuador appears to be much more responsive to such matters than the embassy in Honduras. These processes need to be standardized and optimized!

This article is all I have so far, from The Australian:

A 23-year-old American tourist has been reported missing in the Amazon region of Ecuador, the US embassy in Quito said today. Hugh Graham Murray was first reported missing on Monday, officials said, after he disappeared following a trip to the remote town of Macas in…

Authorities in Mexico are releasing new information on the arrest of a suspected Zeta believed to be linked to the mass killings in San Fernando. Martin Omar Estrada Luna, also known as El Kilo, is accused in more than 200 murders. Read full article.

It's difficult, to say the least, to find good data on foreigners who disappear or are murdered while traveling abroad, but sometimes you can find information about overall levels of violence. This article in The Economist magazine includes an illuminating graphic depicting homicide rates throughout Central America.…

At least one U.S. citizen is among a group of kidnapped bus passengers whose bodies could lie in a mass grave found in Mexico.U.S. officials confirmed in a statement on Sunday that an American man was one of those abducted by armed attackers on the Mexican border. Investigators said they had found a mass grave of 72 bodies, which could contain the bodies of the travellers, but they were unable to confirm the identities.…

The 10th annual New York State Missing Persons Day was an opportunity to remember those who are missing and to find new strength to push ahead. Read the full article.

Authorities in Mexico say security forces have found at least 59 bodies in a mass grave in the northern state of Tamaulipas, near the U.S. border. Government officials said police and military personnel found the mass grave while investigating the March 25 disappearance of several buses in the area. The state prosecutor's office said they are trying to determine…