Guillermo Jafett Hidalgo Ortiz and Zafar Padamsee Mawani have not been seen since May 20.
CHICAGO, IL — A married couple with long ties to Chicago and Oak Park has been missing in Mexico City since May 20, after relatives said they left to meet people connected to equipment for an elderly parent.
Guillermo Jafett Hidalgo Ortiz, 57, and Zafar Padamsee Mawani, 56, moved from the Chicago area to Mexico last fall, according to relatives and friends. They were living in the Tlalpan area of Mexico City and caring for Mawani’s mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Their disappearance has drawn attention in Illinois and Mexico as relatives press for help from Mexican authorities and U.S. officials while search bulletins remain active.
People close to the couple said Hidalgo Ortiz and Mawani were arranging a lift chair or elevator equipment for Mawani’s mother when they disappeared. They had been dealing with people described by relatives as local contractors. On May 20, they were last known to be in or near the Isidro Fabela neighborhood in the Tlalpan borough, a southern part of Mexico City. Friends said Hidalgo Ortiz shared his location with a friend before contact stopped. Their phones later went dark, with one account placing the last WhatsApp connection around 6:20 p.m. that day. A relative told Chicago reporters the couple’s family is “desperate” for answers and wants more help from authorities on both sides of the border.
Mexican authorities issued search bulletins for both men on May 23, three days after they vanished. The bulletins identified Mawani as 56 and Hidalgo Ortiz as 57. Reports based on the official notices said Mawani was wearing a red plaid shirt when he disappeared. Hidalgo Ortiz was described as wearing a beige polo-style shirt, with pierced ears and a peace-sign tattoo on the inner part of one arm. Friends and relatives also reported unusual banking activity after the couple went missing, including card activity and alerts tied to possible transfers. Authorities have not publicly said who made those transactions, whether the men were forced to make them or whether any suspects have been identified.
The case has unsettled communities in Chicago and Oak Park, where the couple lived for decades before moving to Mexico. Mawani has been described by people close to him as an Oak Park River Forest High School graduate and a University of Chicago graduate. Hidalgo Ortiz has been described as a longtime worker in Chicago’s hospitality industry and a familiar figure to friends in the Oak Park area. The couple moved to Mexico in October, friends said, so they could help care for Mawani’s mother. Their disappearance came during what relatives described as a routine errand tied to making the home safer and more accessible for her care.
The investigation remains with Mexican authorities. The Mexico City Attorney General’s Office has issued missing-person notices, and reports in Mexico said the case is being handled in coordination with search officials and public security agencies. Relatives and friends have asked U.S. officials to monitor the case because both men have American ties. The Mexican Consulate in Chicago said it was following the matter and would provide consular assistance within its authority. U.S. officials generally do not lead investigations in another country, but they can assist families, communicate with local authorities and help with consular needs when U.S. citizens are missing abroad.
Accounts of the couple’s final known movements have differed in some details. Several reports said they were meeting contractors about a lift or elevator project. One Mexican report said investigators were looking at a ride-hailing trip toward La Marquesa, a wooded area west of Mexico City. Other reports placed the last known location near Periférico Sur, a major roadway in the southern part of the capital. What remains clear is that relatives lost contact with both men on May 20 and later saw financial activity they considered suspicious. Officials have not publicly confirmed a motive or announced arrests.
Friends in the Chicago area have circulated the couple’s photos and names, hoping the attention will keep pressure on the search. They have described the men as devoted partners who built deep friendships over many years. The concern has grown with each passing day because there has been no confirmed sighting and no public explanation for the phone shutdowns or banking activity. Those close to the couple have also said Mawani’s mother remains without the two people who had been managing much of her care, adding another hardship to the family’s uncertainty.
As of June 2, Hidalgo Ortiz and Mawani remained listed as missing, and Mexican authorities had not announced that they had been found. The next major step is any public update from investigators, search officials or consular authorities handling the case.
Author note: Last updated June 2, 2026.