Family, friends fear for Bay Area woman abducted in Mexico
SAN MATEO -- Concerns were mounting among family and friends over the whereabouts of Monica De Leon, a Bay Area woman who was abducted on the streets of Tepatitlán de Morelos, Mexico, in late November.
A flyer posted on a Facebook page dedicated to locating the 29-year-old says she was last seen walking her dog in the city near Guadalajara while visiting on Nov. 29. She was reportedly forced into a van while on her way to a local gym around 5 p.m.
Since that time, her family has grown frustrated with local authorities in Tepatitlán de Morelos.
"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."
Family and friends were also calling on individuals to contact Senator Alex Padilla's office.
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 first hand," 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 personalty.
"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."
Indrina Sircar, who worked with De Leon at Starbucks, echoed those sentiments.
"I am very concerned that she's in the clasp of something very unfortunate," she said.
Monica De Leon, 29, was allegedly kidnapped in Tepatitlán de Morelos, Mexico, on Nov. 29, according to a Facebook group trying to spread word about De Leon's disappearance. She was heading to a gym when she was forced into a van, flyers say. De Leon is about 5-foot-6 and has black hair with blond highlights. She was wearing black clothes at the time of her reported disappearance, according to Facebook posts.
Ever since De Leon vanished, hundreds of people have shared flyers on social media. Though she isn't currently listed as a missing person on the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office website, Rep. Jackie Speier, who represents San Mateo, said she is working to locate her.
riginally a 16th-century Spanish settlement, the town of Tepatitlán de Morelos has retained much of its colonial-era architecture, according to Britannica. Located in northeastern Jalisco, visitors can drive there from Guadalajara, the state capital. It has a population of about 150,000 people, according to Data Mexico.
Neither the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office nor family members of De Leon responded to SFGATE's request for comment.
