Makala Pendley, 30, had been listed missing from Indianapolis since Feb. 23 with her seven children.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN — An Indianapolis mother who vanished with her seven children earlier this year was found dead in southern Mexico, where authorities said Tuesday they are investigating her death as a femicide.
Makala Pendley, 30, was identified after a body was found in Zinacantán, a municipality in the Mexican state of Chiapas. Her children, who had been listed as missing with her since Feb. 23, were later reported safe, family members and Mexican authorities said. Pendley’s family also said she was pregnant.
The case moved quickly Tuesday after months of public missing-child notices in the United States and reports from Mexican authorities. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children had listed seven children from Indianapolis as missing and said they might be with their mother. The children were identified as Aubrielle Oriana Butler, 8; Polaris Jude Butler, 3; Nikola Jude Butler, 12; Earthum Jude Butler, 5; Orion Jude Butler, 7; Azrael Jude Butler, 1; and Joseph Jude Butler, 10.
Mexican reporting said Pendley was found Monday afternoon at the entrance to Zinacantán with signs of violence. State police, forensic workers and public ministry agents went to the scene and moved the body to the medical examiner’s office. Chiapas Attorney General Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca said a special group was assigned to the case after Pendley was identified. He later said Joseph “N,” described as Pendley’s partner and the main suspect, had been detained and placed in the custody of the public ministry.
Authorities in Chiapas did not immediately release a full timeline of Pendley’s time in Mexico, and they had not said how long she had been living in Chiapas. Mexican news reports said Pendley had previously contacted authorities in Yucatán in August 2025 after saying her children had disappeared in Progreso. In that earlier episode, the children were later found at a home in the Solana de Tixcacal subdivision in Mérida. “My children must be terrified,” Pendley wrote at the time, according to Mexican reporting on the prior complaint.
The missing persons case in the United States began publicly through child recovery notices tied to Indianapolis. The NCMEC poster said Aubrielle, Polaris, Nikola, Earthum, Orion, Azrael and Joseph were last seen Feb. 23 in Indianapolis and might be in the company of Makala Pendley. The notice listed the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department as the investigating agency. It also listed Pendley as a companion in the case and gave her age as 30.
Family members in Indiana learned Tuesday that Pendley’s body had been identified, according to local reporting. A family member also said the children were found safe in Mexico. Mexican outlets first reported that authorities were still searching for the children, but later reports and posts from local groups said the minors had been located and placed under protection. Authorities did not immediately release the children’s exact location, condition or custody status.
The case is being handled in Mexico as a femicide, a legal category used there for the killing of a woman under gender-based circumstances. Llaven Abarca said Chiapas had recorded 18 femicides so far in 2026. The organization 50+1 put the number at 19 and said Pendley’s killing was the first femicide of June involving a foreign citizen in the state. Authorities said the investigation remains open, and prosecutors have not publicly described a motive.
Pendley’s death left relatives in Indiana and Mexico trying to understand how a missing persons case that began in Indianapolis ended in Chiapas, more than 1,800 miles away. Public records in the case now span two countries, several law enforcement agencies and months of uncertainty. The main unanswered questions include when Pendley arrived in Chiapas, where she and the children had been staying, and what evidence led investigators to detain the suspect.
As of Tuesday, Joseph “N” was in the custody of Mexican prosecutors, and the seven children had been reported safe. The next formal step is expected from the Chiapas attorney general’s office as investigators prepare the case for court review.
Author note: Last updated June 9, 2026.