Rene Layja, a 33-year-old man from Mexico, disappeared during a family visit to Mesa, Arizona, in April 1994. He arrived on a medical visa and on April 22 told his mother he was going for a walk from her home near the 700 block of S. Parcell Rd.; he never returned and was reported missing that evening. Rene is described as a Hispanic male, 6 feet 3 inches, about 240 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, last seen in a blue t-shirt, gray pants, and black shoes.

In the early morning of April 23 a confused, dehydrated Rene knocked on a Gilbert resident’s door and was taken by police to Maricopa County Hospital. He told staff in Spanish that he lived in Sonora, Mexico and wanted to go home. A social worker bought him a Greyhound ticket to Nogales and escorted him to the station; the bus driver later recalled a man matching his description getting off in Nogales. It is not known whether he crossed the border or what happened after that. His mother has since died without learning his fate.

Did anyone in the Nogales or Sonora area see a man matching Rene’s description in late April 1994 or have information about his movements after the bus stop?