‘You Never Sleep the Same Again’: Families of Missing People in Yucatán Demand Stronger Searches

Mérida, Yucatán — “You never sleep the same again.” That is how family members of missing people describe the uncertainty they live with while waiting for news of loved ones who left home one day and never returned.

On Saturday, families held a public protest in Yucatán to remind authorities that people in the state remain missing and to demand stronger action to find them.

During the demonstration, families said they are still waiting for a phone call or any piece of information that could reveal where their loved ones are.

Marisela Orozco, a member of the collective Más Fuertes que Nunca (Stronger Than Ever), explained that for years, reports of young people leaving home were often linked to family problems or domestic violence, and in many cases they eventually returned.

But in the last two months, she said, they have come across cases that are concerning because young people may be tricked through supposed job offers and then taken out of the state.

“We fear that trafficking has arrived here and that they are taken away under the pretext of work,” she said.

The activist clarified that this is a concern based on cases they have learned about, not a confirmed official cause for the recent disappearances.

She said the general perception of safety in Yucatán could also make young people lower their guard.

“Young people here in Yucatán are more confident, they feel safe, and so they are falling for it,” she said.

Orozco said she has proposed to state authorities that they launch prevention campaigns aimed at young people, with information about the risks of accepting job offers without verifying where they come from.

Calls for immediate searches

Orozco said the collective stays in communication with the State Prosecutor’s Office and the Local Search Commission for Missing Persons of Yucatán to respond to reports and take part in search efforts in different municipalities.

“Whenever they tell me about a case, we try to make sure the search happens immediately,” she said.

The activist has spent about 12 years supporting cases of missing people across the country and has done this work from Mérida for the past three years.

According to Orozco, the collective is aware of and provides support for 355 cases of missing people who have not returned in Mérida.

The missing include men and women of different ages, she said, noting that the problem is not limited to young people — there are also cases involving adults and older adults.

At the protest, families demanded greater support from the state and stressed that the work of locating a person should not fall only on those waiting for them to come home.

For them, a disappearance means living permanently with uncertainty, not knowing where their family member is, what happened to them, or whether they will ever return.

On Saturday, they again took to public space to read aloud the names of those still missing and remind authorities that as long as they remain missing, their families will keep searching.