Arturo Zavala Hilerio was 20 when he disappeared on April 28, 2014, while attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. Originally from Chiapas, Mexico, he had traveled far to reunite with family in the United States and last contacted them from Reynosa. Arturo told his family the people who were supposed to pick him up had not arrived and that others had approached him who were not part of his plan.

Arturo’s mother, Laura Hilerio, remembers a final phone call on April 25. Contacts who had been helping Arturo became inconsistent; at one point she was told he had been taken to a safe house and could no longer use his phone, and after that all contact ceased. Laura has worked with organizations including Águilas del Desierto searching for missing migrants and continues to hope he is alive while fearing he may have been kidnapped or otherwise harmed during the crossing.

If anyone was in Reynosa or near McAllen around late April 2014 and saw Arturo or has information about his movements or the safe house mentioned, please come forward.