After nearly a month of searching, the body of Fabiola Metzulebeth Cervantes Macias was located on a property in Tijuana following an anonymous call that alerted the Madres Hasta Distancia Tecate collective.

The young woman, a mother of Fabiola, a mother of three, had been reported missing on November 1st and had four prior reports of violence against her ex-partner, Roberto Raul Garvin Zapata, who is now facing charges for forced disappearance. The body was found last Friday at the La Herradura ranch, near the Villas del Campo area. Members of the collective went to the site after receiving an anonymous tip and confirmed that the body of a woman was there, wearing clothing matching Fabiola's description: a brown fleece sweatshirt and a purple blouse with black stripes. The family identified the body at the Forensic Medical Service, where it was reported that it was in an advanced state of decomposition. The young woman worked at the Boe Vision Electric Technology Mexico SA de CV maquiladora in Otay. That afternoon, she took the company shuttle and got off in Villa del Campo, the neighborhood where her ex-partner and the father of her youngest daughter lives. Her cell phone registered her last location in that same area.

On November 4, while the family was increasing the number of search reports, they received a message from Fabiola's phone in which she supposedly informed them that she was going to the United States and that they shouldn't look for her. Her mother asserted that the text did not match the way her daughter communicated.

History of violence ignored

The operational director of the United with Modern Mexico Union (Sucomm), Sol Merino, lamented that state and municipal authorities did not implement protection measures in time.

She pointed out that Fabiola had warned about assaults, threats, violent break-ins, and harassment by Garvin Zapata, and had even reported that he took her to a vacant lot telling her, "I'm going to bury you here."

According to Merino,A document submitted to the Women's Justice Center has reportedly disappeared, even though the testimony remains on file in the case. Garvin Zapata was arrested in mid-November for another crime, and subsequently, a judge formally charged him with enforced disappearance committed by private individuals in connection with Fabiola's case. Groups and families demand justice. The Madres Hasta Finding You (Mothers Until We Find You) collective confirmed the discovery on social media and expressed condolences to the family. Throughout November, searchers, family members, and organizations supported the investigation and urged the Baja California State Attorney General's Office (FGE) to expedite the search. Jair Wilson, Fabiola's brother, kept her missing person alert active for weeks, and after the body's identity was confirmed, he demanded justice and called the case a femicide.