Chicago Couple Found Dead near Mexico City After Missing for Weeks

Authorities in Mexico are keeping quiet about the discovery of a mass grave with four bodies, including two men from Chicago who were reported missing in May.

The discovery took place this week in southern Mexico City. According to a report from Mexico’s Zeta Magazine, authorities were carrying out a search operation in the Valle de Silencio rural community in the Marquesa region. In that region, authorities found the bodies of three men and two women. While authorities have not publicly released information on the case, Zeta reported that the operation was done in an attempt to locate Zafar Padamsee Mawani and Guillermo Hidalgo Ortiz, a Chicago couple that had been reported missing since May 20.

The couple had been living in the Tlalpan municipality of Mexico City after leaving Chicago because of the political climate in the United States, Zeta Magazine reported.

The two men had reportedly left their home to make a purchase when they were taken. One of them managed to share their location prior to going missing. The location was on the south side of Mexico City, along a road leading to the area where they were reportedly found in the Marquesa region.

Local Chicago news stations reported from the time of the men’s disappearance revealed that Mexican authorities had shared minimal information on the case.

The murder comes at a time when Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum continues to claim that crime has gone down under her watch, while top U.S. government officials have been pressuring her and her government to eradicate drug cartels.