A Chicago couple residing in Mexico City has been missing for over a week, prompting their loved ones to urgently seek assistance. Sporadic cell phone pings and troubling ATM transactions have surfaced in the wake of their disappearance.
Guillermo Jafett Hidalgo Ortiz, 57, and Zafar Padamsee Mawani, 56, relocated to the Tlalpan area of Mexico City last October. Their move was motivated by a desire to care for Mawani’s mother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s.
According to reports from WLS, the couple vanished while collecting disability equipment from local contractors, intended to aid Mawani’s mother, last Wednesday.
On that same day, Ortiz unexpectedly sent his location to a friend near a hospital in the southern corridor of Mexico City.
Those familiar with the couple believe the location was shared out of fear and have urgently reached out to the US Embassy and Mexican foreign ministry for assistance.
Following Ortiz’s location share, the couple’s phones became inactive on WhatsApp around 6:20 p.m.
They were riding in the car with the contractors when their location tracking turned off, reports Mexican outlet Infobae.
Twenty-four hours afterward, the couple’s bank issued an automatic alert indicating that they registered contacts to send large sums of money to various people.
Then on Friday, money was withdrawn from the couple’s bank accounts.
Those close to the couple said that this was “strange:”
“The Consulate reaffirms its commitment to providing consular assistance within the scope of its authority, and any updates will be communicated through the appropriate institutional channels,” the Mexican consulate in Chicago said in a statement to ABC5.
Mexican authorities continue to investigate.
