American med school grad missing in Mexico

An Arkansas native, who recently graduated from medical school in Gudalajara, has gone missing in Mexico, leaving loved ones fearing the worst, officials said Thursday.

Jesse Pacheco, 29, walked through commencement ceremonies at Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara this past weekend and was supposed to be back home in the U.S. this week, according to family members.

But loved ones said they haven’t heard from him since he went out to celebrate his graduation in western Mexico.

Pacheco’s hometown congressman, Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., is working with officials to try and locate him. In a statement to NBC News, Womack’s spokesperson, Alexia Sikora, said, “I can confirm that we are aware and that our office is in contact with the family, State Department, and consulate.”

“The congressman is closely following the situation,” Sikora added. “We are all hoping for a positive outcome.”

Francine Solis, Pacheco’s cousin and a spokesperson for their family, fears the worst.

“He goes back there to get his diploma, his doctorate in medicine, and all of a sudden he’s gone,” Solis told NBC News.

She said that Pacheco’s mother, other family members and and a number of friends traveled to Mexico to see him graduate on Friday, June 14. Pacheco went out to celebrate with friends the following night, but he never returned.

“When everyone woke up in the morning at 7:00 they saw he wasn’t home yet,” Solis recalled being told. “His cell phone was off and it wasn’t like Jesse to turn off his phone or let it die.”

Solis said Pacheco’s mother immediately went to local police to file a missing persons report. She also checked for him at the nightclub he was supposed to have been at, local hospitals and even morgues. But there was no trace of him.

The family is frustrated with the level of help they’ve received from Mexican officials and have only heard social media rumors about Pacheco’s whereabouts.

“We haven’t heard from any Mexican officials,” said Solis. “People have tagged me in various posts that say, ‘Oh, he’s been kidnapped,’ but no one’s saying anything official so we’re going off of hearsay.”

Pacheco worked as a surgical tech at Mercy Hospital in Fort Smith, Arkansas, from February, 2015 to February, 2017, according to hospital spokesman Todd Nighswonger.

He had been informally tailing doctors on their rounds in recent months and had been applying for residency programs for the fall, Nighswonger added.

“He was really well liked and had shadowed many doctors so he was fairly well known” around the hospital, Nighswonger said.

In a Facebook posting last week, Pacheco thanked his family and friends — especially his mother.

“And so my dream of becoming a doctor was fulfilled today!!!” he wrote. “I am so happy and blessed to have an amazing mother who helped me to this point of my life today. She is a true role model for me.”

“He is the most amazing person ever,” Solis said. “If you bottle up all the good things a person could be, that’s Jesse. He’s not a trouble maker, he’s not a bad guy.”

Nicole Acevedo contributed.

source: nbcnews.com