Search collectives document at least 18 cases in two years as families accuse authorities of inaction and missing reports.
Sinaloa, and Mazatlán in particular, has become a hotspot for families from Durango.
This is the warning from mothers, collectives, and search groups who, for at least two years, have documented an increase in the disappearances of young people from Durango in this tourist port city, which—they assert—”has become an uncertain territory for those who once considered it a safe destination.”
While collectives like Madres Buscadoras de Durango (Searching Mothers of Durango) have counted more than 18 active missing persons cases between 2024 and 2025, the Durango State Attorney General’s Office (FGED) officially acknowledges slightly less than half of those cases. There is no unified registry, but there is a shared feeling: time marches on, anguish grows, and families continue to wonder what is happening to the people from Durango who disappear in Mazatlán, a destination historically linked socially and economically to Durango.
Mothers from Durango united in the face of institutional inaction The Madres Buscadoras de Durango (Searching Mothers of Durango) collective, consulted by the mexican newspaper MILENIO, has documented at least 18 disappearances of people originally from Durango in Sinaloa, most of them in Mazatlán. The group maintains an internal registry that includes names, case numbers, dates, and notes about the obstacles families face in their search for justice. The list includes cases such as that of Helena Vela Leyva, who disappeared in Mazatlán, as well as those of Óscar Uriel García Valenzuela, César José García Pulido, and María de Jesús Carrillo Mena, among others with open investigations.
However, more serious situations are also documented: case files never completed, complaints rejected, and visits to the Mazatlán Deputy Prosecutor’s Office where no case number or proof of service was provided. Among the most heartbreaking cases is that of the family group comprised of Erika Gabriela Cardoza Guevara, Fátima Jazmín González Cardoza, Alondra Jaqueline González Cardoza, Erik Gabriel González Cardoza, Rodolfo Miguel González Cardoza, and Joaquín Alexander Cardoza Guevara, who disappeared together after being taken from their home in Culiacán.
According to the collective, the Mazatlán Prosecutor’s Office has repeatedly refused to file complaints, even when the events occurred within its jurisdiction. One of the emblematic cases is that of Rodolfo Miguel González Cardoza, where the argument was that “no complaint exists” because “they no longer wanted to file the report.” Despite this, the searchers assert that they will continue documenting each case “until the authorities do their job.” Mazatlán becomes a Bermuda Triangle of disappearances for families from Durango: “as if they vanished into thin air.”
Mazatlán has become a hotspot for families from Durango.
This is the warning from mothers, collectives, and search groups who, for at least two years, have documented an increase in the disappearances of young people. Searching Mothers of Durango count more than 18 active missing persons cases between 2024 and 2025.
Sinaloa, and Mazatlán in particular, has become a hotspot for families from Durango. This is the warning issued by mothers, collectives, and search groups who, for at least two years, have documented an increase in the disappearances of young people from Durango in that tourist port city, which—they assert—”has become an uncertain territory for those who once considered it a safe destination.”
While groups like Madres Buscadoras de Durango (Searching Mothers of Durango) have recorded more than 18 active missing persons cases between 2024 and 2025, the Durango State Attorney General’s Office (FGED) officially acknowledges slightly less than half of those cases. There is no unified registry, but there is a shared feeling: time passes, the anguish grows, and families continue to wonder what is happening to the people from Durango who disappear in Mazatlán, a destination historically linked socially and economically to Durango.
Mothers from Durango Unite Against Institutional Negligence The Madres Buscadoras de Durango (Searching Mothers of Durango) collective has documented at least 18 disappearances of people from Durango in Sinaloa, most of them in Mazatlán. The group maintains an internal registry that includes names, case numbers, dates, and notes about the obstacles families face in their search for justice. The list includes cases such as that of Helena Vela Leyva, who disappeared in Mazatlán, as well as those of Óscar Uriel García Valenzuela, César José García Pulido, and María de Jesús Carrillo Mena, among others with open investigations.
