50-Year Sentence Upheld in Cancún Disappearance Case

Cancún, Mexico — A 50-year prison sentence for Ángel Conrado Salas Blanco, convicted of the disappearance of Francisca Mariner Flores Patrón in 2020, has been formally upheld by an appellate court. The Quintana Roo State Attorney General's Office (FGE) confirmed that a judge from the Ninth Chamber of the Oral Penal System, based in the municipality, ratified the sentence for the crime of disappearance of persons committed by private individuals.

The ruling follows an appeal filed on November 8, 2024, which challenged the definitive sentence originally handed down on October 14, 2024, by the Trial Court of Oral Criminal Justice of the First Instance of the Cancún Judicial District.

Ángel Conrado Salas Blanco was the sentimental partner of the victim, who disappeared from the home they shared with his family on June 22, 2020. One day later, the subject himself reported his ex-partner missing to the FGE, prompting the issuance of an Amber Alert and the Alba Protocol to locate her.

However, subsequent investigations established that the convicted man lied to evade responsibility when he filed the missing person report. After analyzing all the evidence presented by the Public Prosecutor's Office, the oral trial judge issued the 50-year prison sentence. Additionally, Salas Blanco was ordered to pay a fine of 695,040 pesos and provide comprehensive reparations for damages.

Upon appeal, the magistrate confirmed that the facts and the full responsibility of the convicted individual were demonstrated during the trial, thereby upholding the sentence.

The Fight of a Searching Mother

Many of the advances in this case are credited to María Dolores Patrón Pat, president of the Madres Buscadoras de Quintana Roo (Searching Mothers of Quintana Roo) and the mother of Francisca Mariner. She never gave up and has since located her daughter's remains, with the confirmation that the culprit will remain in prison.

“It was in writing, just at 2:46 in the afternoon I received the call from the Attorney General's Office. They were also receiving the notification of the magistrate's resolution from the ninth chamber at that very moment,” stated Patrón Pat. “They told me that the sentence was confirmed, that the ruling was in favor of Francisca Mariner.”

“It made me very happy to know that this magistrate confirmed the sentence because it's true, I had a lot of insecurity, a lot of fear, but I am very glad that he confirmed this sentence that the judge had issued on October 14. It gives us joy as a family to have this favorable ruling. It gives us great relief and once again opens the door for us to trust that the authorities will do their job well, and I truly thank the magistrate for having looked at my daughter Francisca Mariner's case file,” the activist added.

It is noted that another case file remains open against Ángel Conrado Salas for the femicide of the same young woman. María Dolores Patrón Pat is confident that with the evidence presented, he will also be convicted of that crime.

After receiving threats, conducting numerous search operations, doing the work of officials, and fighting against institutional corruption, a searching mother now has the peace of mind of knowing that her daughter Francisca Mariner's murderer will remain in prison.