Debanhi Escobar: chronology of the missing young woman in Nuevo León

Disappearance of Debanhi Escobar: authorities give details of the case 7:18

(CNN Spanish) --

On the night of April 21, the Attorney General's Office of Nuevo León, in Mexico, reported the location of "a lifeless body" on the land surrounding the place of disappearance of Debanhi Susana Escobar Bazaldúa, of 18 years.

The young Mexican was last seen on April 8 at night on the Laredo highway, at the height of the Nuevo Castilla neighborhood, in the municipality of Escobedo, Nuevo León.

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The undersecretary of Public Security, Ricardo Mejía Berdeja, assured that the body was rescued from the cistern and was taken to the Forensic Medical Service to perform the autopsy and genetically determine if it is the Debanhi body.

Debanhi Escobar joins the list of disappearances of women in Nuevo León, Mexico.

The governor of the state, Samuel García, said in a press conference that from the beginning of the year to April 17, 327 reports of missing women had been filed, of which 289 were found alive, 33 are still unaccounted for and five were found lifeless.

García pointed out that between 7 pm on April 17 and the same time on April 18, the authorities had located seven other women, whose identities he projected on a screen but without clarifying whether they were found alive or dead.

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Debanhi case: Another dream extinguished, another family destroyed 1:28

In a recent report, the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances described disappearances in Mexico as an alarming phenomenon and called on the government to take action.

The Committee points out that the main responsible for these crimes are the federal, state and municipal authorities, as well as organized crime.

Here is a timeline of what we know about the Debanhi Escobar case:

April 8: Debanhi's disappearance

Debanhi Susana Escobar Bazaldúa disappeared on Friday night in the Nueva Castilla neighborhood in Escobedo, Nuevo León.

According to the version of the authorities, Debanhi came from a party and got out of an Uber on the Nuevo Laredo highway.

The 18-year-old girl was last seen through a video recording on the side of a transport company.

From that location, she took an image that circulated on social networks, said Ricardo Mejía, Undersecretary of Public Security.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Debanhi Escobar (@debanhi.escobar)

According to an Instagram account allegedly managed by Debanhi's relatives, the young woman went to a party with her friends who called "a trusted contact" to pick her up from the place.

However, this contact performed the work "off the shelf".

April 15: a reward of 100,000 Mexican pesos is offered

The Local Search Commission of Nuevo León publishes a reward of 100,000 Mexican pesos (just under US$5,000) for information that helps find Debanhi.

April 21 - Body located near Debanhi's last location

The Nuevo León Attorney General's Office reported Thursday night that they located a lifeless body "inside an abandoned water tank" on land near the place where Debanhi had disappeared.

In a press release published after 10 p.m. on Thursday, the Prosecutor's Office said that it was working on "the recovery of the body with the support of the State Civil Protection" and that the place "due to the conditions of abandonment of the site, the presence of water and the depth presents difficulties for field experts".

The report also stated that at that time it was not "possible to establish the characteristics of the person without life" and asked "to wait for the official news regarding these facts, which will be supported by the relevant scientific evidence."

The State Prosecutor's Office indicated that the victim's relatives had been notified and were being cared for by an interdisciplinary team.

April 22: "That there be an open prosecutor's office," requests the governor of Nuevo León

During the daily conference of the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the Undersecretary of Public Security, Ricardo Mejía Berdeja, offered details of the Debanhi Escobar case.

Mejía Berdeja indicated that the previous day "a body of a lifeless female was located within the facilities of the Nueva Castilla Motel, in Escobedo, Nuevo León, a short distance from where the young Debanhi was located on the last occasion."

According to the undersecretary of Public Security, the body was found inside a water tank, at a depth of four meters and indicated that the alert was given by motel employees "before fetid odors that were beginning to be released from that place."

Ricardo Mejía Berdeja showed satellite images of the Nueva Castilla motel where the body of a woman was located.

Source: Mexican government morning conference.

Mejía pointed out that the body had already been rescued from the cistern and taken to the Forensic Medical Service to perform a necropsy and genetically determine if it is the body of the young Debanhi.

CNN contacted Mario Escobar, Debanhi's father, who said he will wait to give a direct statement when he is informed of the results of the autopsy.

"However, they point out to us that there was a crucifix that coincides with the one she was wearing, as well as the clothing that was revealed at the last moment in which there is a graphic image of Debanhi herself," added Mejía Berdeja.

Given the discovery of that body, the governor of Nuevo León published a video on social networks and asked the State Prosecutor's Office to make known a "minute by minute" of the case.

"I respectfully ask the Prosecutor's Office to create an open Prosecutor's Office, with glass doors and walls that let us know everything that comes out of the autopsy, in the evidence. One, for the certainty of the family; two , for peace of mind and clarification for society about what happened in this case and three, to understand the case and be able to act accordingly and try to avoid other cases like this one from Debanhi in the future," he added.

Outrage over the case of Debanhi Escobar 3:38