The mother and sister of Lizeth Yoana Henao, a 34-year-old Colombian chef who disappeared in Tijuana on July 3, 2024, have traveled from Colombia for the fourth time to conduct field searches across Baja California. The family arrived in early July 2026 to resume looking for Henao in Tijuana, Playas de Rosarito, and Ensenada, marking two years since she was last seen.
The family says Baja California’s state attorney general’s office (FGE) has made little progress in the case. No one has been detained in connection with the disappearance. Investigators’ leading theory is that Henao is still alive but living on the street in a vulnerable condition.
Family Says ‘Nobody Searches if We’re Not Here’
The search collective Todos Somos Liz Puga has been assisting the family with organized field searches. Mexico’s federal victims’ assistance commission, CEAV (Comisión Ejecutiva de Atención a Víctimas), has also provided support. Despite that help, the family has said that meaningful progress only happens when relatives are physically present in Baja California.
Traveling from Colombia to Tijuana four times in two years represents a significant financial and emotional burden. The case puts a spotlight on the challenges foreign nationals face when a loved one goes missing in Mexico: limited consular coordination, slow-moving investigations, and the reality that families thousands of kilometers away must repeatedly cross borders to push for answers.
How to Help
Baja California has one of the highest rates of missing persons in Mexico. According to Mexico’s national registry, the state had more than 4,500 active missing persons cases as of early 2026. Citizen search collectives have filled gaps left by overwhelmed prosecutors’ offices, organizing volunteer brigades to comb open terrain, canal zones, and urban encampments.
Anyone with information about Lizeth Yoana Henao’s whereabouts can contact the search collective Todos Somos Liz Puga at (664) 118-4177 or the FGE at (664) 683-9643. Anonymous tips can be reported by calling 089.
This story was first reported by Punto Norte.