The ICRC noted that, under the most recent amendment to the General Law on Disappearance, an investigative file must be opened whenever someone is reported missing. 

By opening an investigative file with each missing person report, all the information about the case is compiled in one place, making it easier to analyse the information, come up with theories about the person’s disappearance, set a direction for the investigation and search, and track progress. It also makes it easier for search committees to coordinate with prosecutors, so that the investigative and tracing work complement each other, preventing delays and disjointed efforts. This close, ongoing cooperation is essential to finding missing people.

When someone disappears, their life is put on hold and their family must navigate the agony of uncertainty. An investigative file records the steps taken by the authorities and the information provided by the families, all of which is crucial for piecing together the missing person’s story and starting down the path to finding them.

« As long as someone is still looking, the investigative file stays alive, » said María Elizondo, a legal advisor for the ICRC covering Mexico and Central America. « A file is not a static record or a stack of documents; it is a tool for compiling information to generate leads. With every search effort, its heart beats and life is breathed into it. » 

The campaign video invites people to reflect on the importance of the information recorded in investigative files, which reconstruct the story of the missing person and trace the search route. The campaign also includes a leaflet – designed by the ICRC and the families of missing people – that gives people searching for a missing loved one clear, simple and useful information for monitoring the search and investigation. 

« The investigative file is not just paperwork, it is the beating heart of the search process, » said Diana Gutiérrez, a member of the collective Buscándote Con Amor (Looking for you with love). « For the families, the file represents the opportunity to demand progress and take an active part in the investigation. » Ms Gutiérrez is herself looking for her mother, Adulfa Pomposa Cerqueda, who disappeared on 13 September 2016 in Mexico. « An incomplete or deficient file delays the search and jeopardizes our fundamental rights, whereas a well-compiled file allows for better coordination between institutions, prevents oversights and overlaps, builds trust and increases the chances of finding the missing person. »

The ICRC reiterated that Mexico should ensure that families’ « right to know » is upheld and called on the authorities make every effort to determine the fate and whereabouts of missing people, including by sufficiently compiling, analysing and following through on investigative files, given the difference it can make in finding someone.