(Photo Credits: guistriandior’s Instagram Account)
The search for a missing Chicago couple has ended in tragedy after authorities confirmed that Guillermo Jafett Hidalgo Ortiz and Zafar Padamsee Mawani were among the four bodies discovered in a grave in a wooded area outside Mexico City. The couple, who had recently relocated from the Chicago area to Mexico City, had been missing since May 20 after leaving home to meet a contractor to purchase a mobility stairlift/chairlift for Mawani’s mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease.
According to Mexican authorities, several suspects have been arrested in connection with the case, including an alleged kidnapping and robbery ring led by a former police officer. Investigators say information provided by those arrested led them to the burial site in Ocoyoacac, west of Mexico City, where Ortiz and Mawani were found on June 17 alongside two other victims. The investigation remains ongoing.
Friends in Chicago had feared the worst as weeks passed without hearing from the couple. Speaking to CBS News, Maggie Reynoso, who previously styled Ortiz and became a close friend, described the heartbreak of waiting for answers.
“It was horrible, because in Mexico so many people go missing every day,” said Reynoso.
Reynoso also reflected on the couple’s excitement about their new life in Mexico. “He wanted to show his husband how beautiful Mexico is. So they were going everywhere, dressing very glamorous, even though we told them to be safe.”
“Guillermo … doesn’t think that anybody would do any harm,” Reynoso added. “Somebody who did this to him doesn’t have a heart.”
The couple had lived in the Chicago area for decades before moving to Mexico City in October 2025. Friends described them as generous, caring, and deeply devoted to one another. Their disappearance drew widespread attention in both the United States and Mexico, where authorities coordinated an extensive search after family members reported suspicious withdrawals from the couple’s bank accounts following their disappearance.
Following confirmation of their deaths, LGBTQ+ advocacy organization GLAAD paid tribute to Ortiz and Mawani on Instagram.
“Our hearts are with everyone who loved Guillermo Ortiz and Zafar Mawani, a Chicago couple who were found killed in Mexico after they were missing for several weeks,” the post reads. “May Guillermo and Zafar rest in peace.”
In the wake of the tragedy, family members and friends have also launched a GoFundMe campaign to honor Ortiz and Mawani’s lives. According to the fundraiser, donations will help create a memorial plaque and bench in Scoville Park in Oak Park, Illinois, where loved ones can gather to remember the couple. Organizers describe Guillermo and Zafar as “extraordinary” people whose warmth, generosity, and love touched countless lives, saying the memorial will serve as “a lasting tribute to their beautiful spirits and to the love they lived, loudly and proudly.”
In addition to the memorial fundraiser created by friends, a separate GoFundMe has been launched on behalf of Zafar Mawani’s family. The campaign has a goal of $50,000 and states that donations will help cover urgent and ongoing needs, including investigation, transparency, and accountability efforts; case-related legal consultation and advocacy support; Zafar’s burial and a memorial for the couple; travel expenses for Zafar’s family related to the tragedy; logistical and administrative costs; and care and support resources for Zafar’s mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease.
Their deaths have renewed concerns about Mexico’s ongoing missing persons crisis. According to official figures, more than 130,000 people are currently listed as missing or disappeared across the country, a humanitarian issue that families and advocacy groups continue to urge authorities to address. Read here and here for more information on this case.
I wonder how safe is to move to Puerto Vallarta or Ajijic?
Mexico . . . Nowhere is safe.
…Mexico’s ongoing missing persons crisis.
Mexico has been unsafe for years. Even for those who are not Gay or are not US citizens.
There a many alternate countries to choose from to vacation or to live in.
NEVER EVER leave the resort, its one of the worst places to visit because you can ever see the city. You cant walk freely around Mexico city.
Never leave the resort or hotel. I see many people walking around the city on youtube even they say its not safe. Mexican sports journalist Fernando Vargas, communications director for Mexico’s National Professional Basketball League (LNBP), was carjacked at gunpoint while conducting a live TV interview in Morelos on May 20, 2026. Mexico is more dangerous than the USA.
We still get killed especially in “Kidnap City”. Mexico is nefarious for kidnapping, particularly, obvious targets. We are easy targets because some of us are “Obvious” even if we thing we are not.