Abducted Bay Area woman still missing in Mexico; FBI post international reward
SAN MATEO -- The FBI was offering a reward of up to $40,000 for information leading to the recovery of Monica de Leon Barba, a Bay Area woman who was kidnapped in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, Mexico while walking home from work with her dog in November.
The agency was hoping Thursday's reward offer in Mexico would generate leads in the case that has gone cold as concerns have mounted as the days and months have gone by.
A flyer posted on a Facebook page dedicated to locating the 29-year-old says she was reportedly forced into a van. Since that time, her family has grown frustrated with local authorities in Tepatitlán.
"We would ask Mexican officials to also place the importance that this case merits into finding my sister who was abducted in plain daylight, blocks from a national guard station," her brother, Gustavo, said in a family statement.
Congresswoman Jackie Speier has also gotten involved.
"I am actively engaged in the case and in daily contact with the family and various federal agencies," Speier said in a statement to KPIX. "It is imperative that we do everything to find Monica."
Meanwhile, her friends continued to bring attention to the abduction.
"It's shocking, I've read things like this in the news, but I never obviously experienced it firsthand," said Quin Boreen, who employed De Leon at a camera shop and is a close friend. "It's terrifying."
Borren's wife, Breanna Gunn, said De Leon had a warm personality.
"Monica is the type of person that you can't help but become best friends with her," she said. "We honestly are just sick being terrified for her and can't even imagine what her family is going through."