The bodies of an Ohio architect, his fiance, and two of her family who vanished in Mexico on Christmas Day have been identified.
The news of José Gutiérrez’s passing was shared on Tuesday by his firm Champlin Architecture in a Facebook post. José was seeing his fiance Daniela Pichardo in Mexico for the holidays.
“We will all miss him more than words can express,” the company wrote.
According to regional media, local officials in Mexico this week discovered four bodies and a van covered with gunshot wounds in the state of Zacatecas.
Pichardo, her sister Viviana Pichardo, 26, and her cousin Irma Vargas, 27, were three of the four remains that were identified. According to Ohio’s Fox 19 news station, Gutiérrez’s bones are thought to be in the fourth body, which belonged to a guy.
Before definite identification of the remains can be made, investigators are awaiting DNA confirmation.
The van had blown tyres and at least a dozen bullet holes. According to TV Azteca, it’s thought to be the car the foursome had been using to get around Zacatecas.
When neither Gutiérrez nor Pichardo returned phone calls after Christmas, their family began to worry that they had been abducted.
Witnesses claimed to have heard panicked screams and to have seen the four being carried into a van.
Due to recent kidnappings and ongoing violence in the region, the US Department of State advises Americans “not not travel to” Zacatecas.
“In Zacatecas state, extortion, violent crime, and gang activity are all too common. The caution notes that both US citizens and LPRs (lawful permanent residents) have fallen victim to kidnapping.
Before relocating to the US, Gutiérrez was born in Mexico. His master’s degree was from the University of Miami, and he worked with Cincinnati-based Champlin Architecture after graduating.
The company declared its intention to establish a scholarship at his alma mater in his honour “to commemorate his impact to our organisation and the community.”
This year, Gutiérrez and Pichardo intended to wed.
