FBI Releases Video of Missing Californian Woman Being Abducted in Mexico

Members of the Mexican Navy and National Guard patrol the tourist area of Cancun, Quintana Roo state, Mexico, on March 17, 2023. (Elizabeth Ruiz/AFP via Getty Images)

The FBI has released new details in a California woman missing person’s case, along with surveillance videos of the moments leading up to her abduction in Jalisco, Mexico.

Monica de Leon Barba, a U.S. citizen from the Bay Area, has been reported missing since Nov. 29, 2022, according to FBI documents.

Barba was last seen walking home from work with her dog in the city of Tepatitlán, according to the released videos.

The videos pinpoint at least five suspects involved in the kidnapping and who drove away separately in three vehicles—a white Chevy Suburban, a gray Dodge Charger, and a silver Volkswagen Jetta, according to the agency.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp believes the release of the new footage will help bring new leads in the case to finding the 29-year-old California native.

“The FBI is requesting the public’s assistance in locating Monica and returning her safely to her family. We believe these videos may help generate new public tips to assist in our investigation,”  Tripp said in a statement.

“The FBI is offering a reward of up to $40,000 for information leading to Monica’s recovery. If you know anything, please come forward to law enforcement,” he said.

‘We Believe She is Still Alive’

In an ABC 7 News Bay Area interview Tripp described what he hoped could come from releasing the videos to the public.

Kidnap victim Monica de Leon Barba. (FBI)

“We’re hoping these videos jog the memory of people who may have seen the abduction, who may have seen the individuals or the vehicles before or after the abduction,” Tripp said.

“Or, who more importantly, know where those people and vehicles are now.”  

Barba’s abduction is believed to be a targeted plot where she was confronted by several suspects, who forced her into the silver Volkswagen Jetta, according to authorities.

“We believe she is still alive and being held hostage,” Tripp said.

“The hostage takers have been in contact with her family and the FBI is working very closely with her family and with authorities in Mexico to bring her home safely.”

In the video, Barba’s dog can be seen lose on the street after her abduction. The dog was later located and safely recovered by a family member, according to authorities.

Video evidence points to Barba being abducted at around 5:30 p.m. near what is described as a busy intersection just two blocks away from her home.

Proof of Life

Barba’s brother, Gustavo De Leon, said kidnappers have been holding his sister hostage for money since the abduction happened.

“I don’t know of the exact quantity of money that they’re asking for, but I do know that it’s unattainable,” De Leon said in an interview with ABC 7 News Bay Area.

De Leon said the kidnappers had sent evidence that his sister is still alive.

“They have also sent proof of life. They have sent a video where my sister is pleading for help, and that was a long time ago,” he said.

De Leon believes someone had to have seen something during the kidnapping and can provide some valuable information to find his sister.

“There’s got to be something, you know, there’s no way that nobody saw anything,” he said.

National Guard and military vehicles take part in an operation to transfer two of the four U.S. citizens kidnapped in Mexico back to Brownsville, Texas, after the two others were found dead, in Matamoros, Mexico, on March 7, 2023. (AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

De Leon has reached out to the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, and is continuing to bring awareness to his sister’s story in an effort to bring her home safely.

“I reached out to his people; they say that you know, it’s something they discussed, but not that long ago, when four U.S. citizens went missing at the border in Matamoros, it was very quickly televised that Ken Salazar went down to speak with heads of state in Mexico and within days they had a resolution for that,” De Leon said.

The videos released by the FBI have given de Leon’s brother hope that they will generate leads to the suspects and his sister’s freedom.

“I ask you to please help and end this nightmare that my sister has been put through for almost five months now,” De Leon said.

Barba is a U.S. citizen and had been in Mexico since June 2022. She is 5 feet, 7 inches tall, and weighs 240 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes, the FBI report states.

Anyone with information about her physical location should contact a local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate. You can also submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov, or call the FBI’s Toll-Free tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).