VAN BUREN, Ark — According to KFSM, a Van Buren man is missing in Mexico, according to his family and friends.
Jessy Pacheco attended UAFS and then went to medical school in Guadalajara, Mexico. Pacheco was in Guadalajara last week to graduate from medical school when he disappeared.
Pacheco's family says he was last seen on Saturday, June 15 at a club called 'Strana.' The friend who was with him on that night has been found dead, according to Pacheco's family.
His family believes that Pacheco has been kidnapped. This theory has not been confirmed by officials, but they say they will do anything to bring him home.
Some of Pacheco's family members have started searching for him on their own.
"If nobody’s gonna help us, we gotta help ourselves," said Francine, Pacheco's cousin.
Another of Pacheco's cousins, Jeffrey, contacted the U.S. Embassy and the FBI about his cousin's disappearance, but says they have received little help so far.
"The U.S. Embassy said that they couldn’t help because they have no jurisdiction there," Jeffrey said. "When I contacted the FBI to make this report, they said that’s wrong because he’s a U.S. citizen."
Jeffrey says his brother and Pacheco's mother are now in Mexico searching for Jessy.
"They’ve been going to the police stations, hospitals, morgues, you know everywhere and mainly the place he was last seen to see if there’s any clues or anybody that’s seen anything," Jeffrey said.
Francine believes social media may help lead them to Pacheco.
"I know that Jessy knows all of Van Buren and all of Fort Smith and you couldn’t go anywhere without Jessy not knowing someone," Francine said.
"So I knew we had to utilize everyone that we knew and all the family that we have in Mexico and just everyone who has family in Mexico," she said.
The family says they believe Pacheco has been taken.
"We’re just under the presumption that he has been kidnapped because they haven't found his body and they haven’t heard anything," Francine said.
The one thing they know for certain though is that they won't give up on looking for him.
"We’re willing to -- money. We’ll find the money. He’s just young," Francine said.
"I mean even if we have to sell our house, anything," Jeffrey said.
Pacheco was supposed to return home from Mexico Tuesday, June 18 and begin his career as a pediatrician.
His family has created a GoFundMe in hopes of helping finance their search for Pacheco.