Apache Junction mother still searching for answers 9 years after son goes missing in Mexico

APACHE JUNCTION, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) - It’s been a long nine years for an east Valley mother whose son went missing along with another man in Mexico.

Craig Silva is known in the Valley MMA community and went to Puerto Vallarta to expand the sport and open up his own gym. The case is now getting renewed attention from Phoenix police.

Joanne Trickel has become an investigator from her home for nearly a decade. She traveled to Puerto Vallarta to pass out missing person flyers at one point.

She believes her son Craig Silva along with Diego Hernandez, were abducted. “People had come forward down there and seen him be pulled over by municipal police and had never been seen again,” said Trickel. She said Mexican authorities told her someone was using her son’s debit cards after he was reported missing. She showed Arizona’s Family ATM photos she said she got from detectives in Mexico.

According to Trickel, Silva’s SUV was also recovered but had been stripped clean. “Every day, every little thing, makes you wonder,” said Trickel. Phoenix Police recently held a ‘Missing Persons Day,’ and Trickel said detectives took DNA for their database in case they find her son. She said officials also followed up with the Mexican consulate.

Trickel hopes someone comes forward with more information so she can have the answers she’s been looking for. “Just like to have some type of closure,” she said.

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