Castillo said her daughter and her daughter\u2019s boyfriend had been living in their new home for less than a month when they were taken. She said she\u2019d started to worry when her daughter didn\u2019t answer her calls or return her messages. Then, her daughter\u2019s friend messaged her that a group of men had taken Garc\u00eda Castillo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe world came down on me,\u201d Castillo said. \u201cThat\u2019s when my nightmare started. I didn\u2019t know what to do. I went crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The commission, part of the Organization of American States, monitors human rights conditions throughout the hemisphere and makes recommendations to countries about how to improve. In its report published in February 2026, it found that Mexico needs to do more to investigate and bring justice for family members of the disappeared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The report breaks the disappeared into several groups \u2014 men and boys recruited by criminal organizations, women and girls who are victims of gender-based violence, human trafficking victims, migrants, victims of hate crimes based on sexual orientation, journalists targeted because of their work and human rights defenders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Castillo, whose daughter was taken from Tijuana, said most of the madres buscadoras, or searching mothers, whom she has met on her journey to find answers about her daughter are looking for men. She and a few other women looking for their daughters have banded together to support one another, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I covered the 8M March on International Women\u2019s Day<\/a> in Tijuana, the demonstration\u2019s organizers created a section where families looking for missing women and girls could walk together.\u00a0<\/p>\n In its report, the commission urged Mexico to take more preventive measures to stop disappearances by addressing the root causes of violence that leads to them, as well as holding accountable those who kidnap or kill to deter others from doing the same.<\/p>\n The commission also noted that because of delays in investigations and lack of results, many family members of the disappeared do not trust the government\u2019s efforts, leading to high impunity rates, or rates of crimes without convictions. It found that in 2023, Mexico reported a 99.5 percent impunity rate in cases of forced disappearance, 98.4 percent in cases of extortion and 96.8 percent in cases of intentional homicide.<\/p>\n The commission also noted that in several high-profile cases, information that could have led investigators to suspect state actors was removed from the files.\u00a0<\/p>\n Castillo is still searching for information about her daughter today.<\/p>\n She said that she has lost faith in the police and the government, and that she has been investigating by herself as best she can.<\/p>\n \u201cI lived in a bubble thinking the government protected us and took care of us,\u201d Castillo said in Spanish. \u201cNow I\u201dve discovered the cruel reality that we live in here. They don\u2019t protect us. They are involved in all of this.\u201d<\/p>\n She believes her daughter may have been sold.<\/p>\n \u201cI put myself on my knees and pray to God and say, \u2018You are the only one who can help. The only justice is you,\u2019\u201d Castillo said.<\/p>\n Now, everywhere she goes, she takes flyers about her missing daughter. She and other madres buscadoras even travel to other states to look for information and pass out flyers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy daughter has a sweet, noble heart, very genuine,\u201d Castillo said.<\/p>\n An aspiring rapper and dancer, Garc\u00eda Castillo was studying international relations in school, Castillo said. The last time Castillo saw Garc\u00eda Castillo, the daughter had cut her hair short, but she promised her mother that it would grow back.<\/p>\n Sometimes, Castillo said, she gets close to losing faith that she will find her daughter, but then she will hear news that someone else searching for a loved one finally found them. That keeps her going, she said.<\/p>\n She said she hoped that people will have empathy for each other, and that anyone with information about her daughter will come forward, even anonymously, to share it.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want it to happen to anyone else with my whole heart,\u201d Castillo said. \u201cIf the people don\u2019t unite, if they don\u2019t have empathy, this won\u2019t stop.\u201d<\/p>\n Thank you for reading. I\u2019m open for tips, suggestions and feedback on Instagram @katemorrisseyjournalist and on Bluesky @bgirledukate.<\/p>\n In Other News<\/p>\n Blocked border: Protests by a teachers union in Tijuana have blocked U.S.-Mexico border crossings intermittently in recent weeks, including last week, Giovanny Urenda reported for El Sol de Tijuana<\/a>. The Athletic reported<\/a> that the protests, which are also happening in Mexico City around the World Cup stadium, are because the teachers believe that President Claudia Sheinbaum broke a promise about changing a law related to pensions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Iran in Tijuana: Alexandra Mendoza reported for The San Diego Union-Tribune<\/a> that Tijuana was preparing to host the Iranian World Cup team, which will sleep in Mexico and compete in the United States.<\/p>\n Mega hearings: I reported for Daylight San Diego<\/a> that an immigration judge ordered 50 people deported over the course of about eight minutes during the first day of \u201cmega\u201d master hearings in San Diego Immigration Court.<\/p>\n High bonds: Gustavo Solis reported for KPBS<\/a> that lawyers are concerned about unusually high bond amounts issued to immigrants with no criminal convictions who are trying to get out of Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG-20260614-WA0004-717x1024.jpg\")
Missing poster for Selena Guadalupe Garcia Castillo who was kidnapped in Tijuana in 2020. \/ Photo courtesy of Olga Castillo<\/p>\n