Hugo Patricio Tenezaca was 21 when he was last seen around June 17, 2012, near Nolic on the Tohono O’odham reservation in Arizona. The account from his family says he was crossing the desert with a group led by a coyote, likely having started near San Luis, and became separated from the group about 14 miles west of Sells without food or water.

Hugo had previously crossed in 2009 to join his mother, Romelia Yuqui, in New York City, where he worked in a Manhattan bookstore and helped his family. He returned to Ecuador after his father’s death but faced violence and loss there. A visa that had been approved for his return to the US was later revoked, and Hugo set out on the 2012 crossing. His last call to his mother asked for her blessing and said the walk would take about five days; when eight days passed with no word, his family began searching.

Reports conflict about what happened in the desert—some say he got lost seeking water, others that he fell asleep and never woke. An Ecuadorian woman who accompanied him promised to tell his mother what occurred but did not. Romelia also suffered extortion calls from people falsely claiming to have kidnapped Hugo. If anyone has information about Hugo’s movements in mid-June 2012 or remembers seeing him near Nolic or routes west of Sells, please come forward.