CNN
—
Greater than a month after a 63-year-old US citizen was kidnapped from her dwelling in Mexico, the FBI has introduced a $20,000 reward for info resulting in her whereabouts.
Maria del Carmen Lopez was kidnapped February 9 in Pueblo Nuevo, a municipality within the southwestern Mexican state of Colima, the FBI’s Los Angeles subject workplace stated in a launch Thursday.
Lopez can also be a Mexican citizen, based on a press release from the Colima Legal professional Common’s workplace, which stated it’s working with the FBI on the investigation.
Although the FBI didn’t share particulars on the case, it described Lopez as having blonde hair, brown eyes and tattooed eyeliner.
Federal authorities don’t consider drug cartels had been concerned within the kidnapping, the FBI Assistant Director in Cost of the Los Angeles Area Workplace Donald Alway advised CNN. The company has witness accounts confirming Lopez was kidnapped, Alway stated, however didn’t share different particulars concerning the case.
“We’re going to pursue this, and we’ll have a look at each avenue and we’ll comply with each lead and we’ll open each door that we are able to discover to make sure that our main objective is to get her again safely,” he added.
The FBI’s announcement comes practically two weeks after the violent kidnapping of 4 Individuals within the Mexican border metropolis of Matamoros, two of whom had been killed, and three weeks after the disappearance of three girls who crossed into Mexico to promote garments at a flea market.
The investigation into Lopez’s disappearance was opened by the Colima Legal professional Common’s Workplace on the day of the suspected kidnapping and the Mexican Legal professional Common’s Specialised Prosecutor for Organized Crime has since requested to take the case, the assertion from Colima authorities stated.
The Colima prosecutor’s workplace stated it has shared info with Mexican federal authorities and has additionally collaborated with US companies “looking for to make clear the info and safeguard the integrity of the sufferer.”
The FBI inspired anybody with details about the place Lopez could also be positioned to contact their native FBI workplace, submit a tip on-line or attain out to the closest American embassy or consulate.
CNN has reached out to the FBI for extra info.
In all, greater than 100,00 Mexicans and migrants are lacking throughout the nation, leaving their households no rationalization and little solace. The Mexican authorities’s fast response to current disappearances of Individuals has raised eyebrows amongst some who criticize officers for missing such immediate reactions in a slew of home circumstances.
Lopez’s daughter is pleading for info on her mom’s whereabouts after being gone for greater than a month.
Lopez moved to Mexico after she retired and was residing “a quiet life again of their homeland,” her daughter, Zonia Lopez, advised CNN. Her mom by no means expressed any considerations for her security whereas residing in Mexico, she added.
When requested if a ransom was demanded, Zonia stated she couldn’t share an excessive amount of info as a result of it’s “nonetheless an open investigation.”
Zonia stated she discovered about her mom’s disappearance after getting a name from her sisters who stated their father was advised in a telephone name that Lopez was kidnapped. Her household reached out to the embassy, who linked them with the FBI, Zonia stated.
“It’s a horrible feeling not understanding if she is okay, not understanding the place she’s at or who has her,” Zonia stated. “We’re actually powered by the energy that we all know she has and the love that she has for us, and we are actually holding on to a thread of hope.”
Zonia stated she stays hopeful and her mom’s “vibrant perspective and her outlook on life” retains her household going.
“We is not going to cease till we have now solutions, and we’re ensuring that this will get sufficient consideration in order that different households, together with ours, get some type of info, some type of closure to this,” Zonia stated.
Whereas the FBI and Mexican authorities work to seek out her mom, Lopez provided a message to the individual or individuals answerable for her kidnapping: “Please give her again. We’d like our mother.”
