Mexico Reports 213% Jump in Missing Persons Over 10 Years

More than 130,000 people are listed as missing in Mexico. A new report warns that disappearances have risen by 213% over the past decade and are distorting the country’s true levels of lethal violence.

The study, Violencia en México 2015–2025, by México Evalúa, records an increase from 4,114 missing persons in 2015 to 12,872 in 2025. It states that disappearances and homicides coexist in areas of entrenched criminal control and suggests that concealment of bodies reduces official murder counts.

“The coexistence of high homicide and disappearance rates suggests that disappearance does not operate as a separate phenomenon but as a functional mechanism to conceal murders and distort official records of lethal violence,” the report states.

The surge traces back to the government’s war on cartels in the early 2000s. Criminal groups have expanded beyond drug trafficking into forced recruitment, migrant smuggling, and human trafficking. Bodies are often concealed in unmarked graves or destroyed to avoid detection, The Guardian reported.

Sinaloa, Sonora, and Baja California Sur recorded the highest rates in 2025. Baja California Sur saw a 164% rise in 2024 and a 666% increase since 2015.

Under Mexican law, a disappeared person is anyone whose whereabouts are unknown, whether or not a crime is confirmed.

During her February 10th morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum said she will present a report this month with “the real numbers” of missing persons. She acknowledged that the National Registry platform “has many issues” but that the government is strengthening disappearance alerts and support for families.