Families of Mexican migrants on doomed boat search for answers about missing loved ones

Alexandra Mendoza, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Oct 28, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

SAN DIEGO — Marcos Castro last texted his mother to tell her that he had decided to cross into the U.S. and was about to get on a boat.

The family has not heard from him since.

Jessica Castro believes that her brother was on a boat with 27 people that sank 140 miles west of Ensenada, Mexico, this month. Sixteen people were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard and taken to hospitals in San Diego for medical care. In his last message, her brother said he was traveling with others on a yacht from Ensenada to California. He wanted to go to the U.S. in search of a better life, she said.

“I’m looking for answers,” said Castro on Tuesday. She traveled from Sinaloa, Mexico, to Tijuana to file a missing person report with the Baja California Attorney General’s Office.

At first, Castro thought her 24-year-old brother might have been detained by immigration agents when he got to the U.S. But as soon as she started looking for him, she saw news reports on social media that suggested a far worse outcome.

Many families are desperate for information. They want to know if their relatives were among the rescued or the missing. And they have demanded that Mexico continue the search efforts.

“I don’t know where my brother is. I don’t know if he’s alive,” Castro said.

On Oct. 16, at approximately 1 a.m., Coast Guard Sector San Diego received multiple distress broadcasts reporting that a vessel was taking on water. Rescue crews found debris from the vessel and pulled 16 people from the water.

The Coast Guard combed the sea for days for the 11 people believed to be missing, suspending the search on Oct. 19. The Coast Guard, along with Mexican and U.S. Navy personnel, searched more than 2,441 square miles for a combined 89 hours.

The Coast Guard said the incident is under federal investigation but did not specify which agencies are involved. Federal officials said the vessel was following a route used in maritime smuggling operations.

Castro found the families of others believed to be on the vessel in the comments section of social media news reports. Five of them could not make the trip to Tijuana, so she is looking for answers on their behalf. They now share every piece of information they can get through a group chat.

She said that she and other families have contacted hospitals in San Diego to find out if their relatives were among those rescued. Castro said she was told she needs to show up in person with her brother’s documents to receive more information. However, she said that neither she nor her family has a visa to cross the border.

Sharp HealthCare told the Union-Tribune last week that it was unable to provide patient details related to the incident, including whether any were still admitted to hospitals or the extent of their injuries, “to protect patient privacy and the safety of our team members.”

Castro said that she has reached out to the Mexican Consulate and hopes that the office can help her.

The Mexican Consulate in San Diego said that 15 of those rescued are Mexican nationals and one is from Guatemala. Five people have returned to Mexico, and one remains in the hospital with unknown injuries but was stable, the consulate said. The consulate said that, due to privacy concerns, it could not publicly share the individuals’ identities, but such information could be given to relatives who provide proof of a family relationship.

Neither the U.S. Department of Homeland Security nor U.S. Customs and Border Protection has responded to questions about the status of those rescued or if anyone has been detained as part of a potential smuggling investigation. The Coast Guard deferred related questions to CBP.

Matilde Santos also traveled from the Mexican state of Guerrero. She is looking for her brother, Jorge Santos.

The last she heard, he was going to cross the border in search of better opportunities. He said he would turn off his phone but promised to contact the family as soon as he was in the United States. They never got that call.

Santos said her 32-year-old brother initially told them he was going to cross on foot, but at the last minute, he said he was going to do so by boat. She believes he was on the vessel.

“These have been days when we can’t sleep and can’t stop asking ourselves if our family members are among those who have been found or if they’re still missing,” she said.

Santos and her family are renting a small room while in Tijuana. They said they wanted to be closer to the site of the incident instead of contacting Mexican and U.S. officials from Guerrero. “It’s been hard,” she said.

Out of desperation, she said, there have been days when they walked along the beaches of Rosarito and Tijuana, hoping to find him or hear anything about him.

Santos was also at the Baja California Attorney General’s Office in Tijuana to file a missing person report.

_______

(Staff writer Paul Sisson contributed to this report.)