Four American-born siblings vanish in northern Mexico over weekend

Four American children have vanished in northern Mexico, authorities in the region announced Sunday.

The children — all siblings between 9 and 12 years old — were last seen leaving their home on Saturday, according to the Chihuahua State Attorney General’s office.

All four siblings were born in South Dakota and were living in the town of Lázaro Cárdenas, about 50 miles southeast of Chihuahua.

The children are 9-year-old Elías Gómez Herrera Luis Mendo, and Madahi, Ismael, and Issac Gómez Herrera Luis Mendoza, each 12 years old.

It is unclear whether they were citizens of the US. The US State Department did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication.

It is also unclear whether there were any signs of foul play in the children’s disappearance.

Mexico has a notoriously high number of people reported missing.

In 2022, its official missing-persons list first cracked 100,000 individuals.

The day before the siblings went missing, Mexican authorities and officials from US Customs and Border Protection met at the Bridge of America border crossing to reveal the faces of their 10 most-wanted criminals.

Each of the 10 is believed to be associated with criminal organizations operating between Mexico and the US.

“All of these people have active warrants,” El Paso sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony Good said, according to Border Report.

“They’re wanted for murder, they’re wanted for human trafficking, smuggling, drug trafficking. … Just the worst of the worst.”

At least three of the individuals on the list have appeared on the most-wanted line-up before.

The names of the alleged criminals were not included in the flyer, but officials said their faces would be posted throughout busy streets in Mexico and at border stations in the US.