Baja California state investigators arrested a man identified as Luis Alfonso on the night of June 1 inside the Tijuana River canal near the Salesian center in downtown Tijuana. He is wanted in Sonora for his alleged role in the forced disappearance of two people, including Marco Antonio, the son of Cecilia Flores, founder of the Madres Buscadoras de Sonora collective.
Marco Antonio disappeared in May 2019 in Bahía de Kino, a coastal town in Sonora. His remains were located in Hermosillo in March 2026 after years of investigation by the Sonora Attorney General’s Office (Fiscalía General de Justicia del Estado). Investigators believe the discovery of the remains prompted Luis Alfonso to flee across state lines to Tijuana.
48-Hour Interstate Operation
Sonora prosecutors formally requested assistance from their Baja California counterparts on May 30. Just two days later, state agents located and detained Luis Alfonso. The speed of the operation is notable in a country where interstate fugitive coordination often moves slowly.
Luis Alfonso faces charges of forced disappearance committed by a private individual and membership in a criminal organization under Sonoran law. Both charges carry significant prison sentences. He is expected to be transferred to Sonora to face prosecution.
A High-Profile Case for Mexico’s Missing Persons Crisis
Cecilia Flores and the Madres Buscadoras de Sonora are among Mexico’s most recognized search collectives. The group, made up of mothers searching for disappeared relatives, conducts field searches across Sonora and has become a national symbol of the families demanding answers in Mexico’s missing persons crisis. Mexico’s federal registry counts more than 100,000 people as officially disappeared.
Marco Antonio’s case drew particular attention because his mother leads the organization. His disappearance in 2019 and the long wait for answers became emblematic of the challenges facing search collectives across the country.
The arrest in Tijuana follows another recent case involving search collectives in the city. In March 2026, Baja California state police arrested María de la Luz Concepción, known as “La Tía,” after mothers searching for missing relatives in the Los Valles neighborhood identified her as allegedly connected to multiple disappearances linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
This story was first reported by Jornada BC.