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THE children of a missing woman are holding out hope their mom is still alive after vanishing months ago on a trip to Mexico.
As the half-year mark since her disappearance approaches, her kids are taking matters into their own hands.
Chris Leguisano, 51, left Des Moines for Mexico on August 8 to bring belongings to her brother-in-law.
She let her family know she arrived safe – but August 9, 2024, was the last time they heard from her.
It’s now been nearly six months since Leguisano went missing, and her children are furious at the lack of information about their mother’s disappearance.
“To not have answers in six months, I think it’s outrageous,” her daughter, Stephanie Quintana-Leguisano, told local CBS affiliate KCCI.
“There are moments where I break down,” she said.
The brother-in-law Leguisano went to visit was reportedly the last person to see her.
But he’s now refusing to provide answers as the investigation continues.
And while the FBI is chasing the case, Quintana-Leguisano said the agency has revealed very few details.
Still, Leguisano’s daughter is desperate for updates and believes her mom is alive.
“I feel like I have to be strong for my family members and I am trying the best,” Quintana-Leguisano told KCCI.
“I just feel like a lot has been put on my shoulders, but I am praying for a miracle that we get my mom back and that, hopefully, we get answers back soon.”
GOVERNMENT HELP
Just days after Leguisano’s mysterious disappearance, the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office confirmed the 51-year-old entered the region on August 9, Breitbart News reported.
The office suggested Leguisano could’ve become the victim of a crime, but didn’t have any additional details.
Officials in the area searched for Leguisano to no avail, according to Jorge Cuellar Montoya, the Tamaulipas government’s security spokesman.
Leguisano’s disappearance came just weeks after two warnings were issued by the US Consulate in Matamoros about US tourists being targeted by kidnappings in the area.
I know my mom is alive. I just know. I feel it in my soul. When you have that connection with someone you truly love, you can just feel it.
Brian Garay
Then, a month after Leguisano’s disappearance, US Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst wrote to US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar pleading for an update.
“We write to request a status briefing and regular updates on the embassy’s efforts to recover Iowan Chris Leguisano and to bring her kidnappers to justice,” the senators wrote in September 2024, per KCCI.
“This is now the second high-profile assault of an American citizen in Tamaulipas in the last two years,” the pair continued, referring to the March 2023 incident that left four Americans caught in gunfire in Tamaulipas.
Only two of the tourists survived the brazen attack 17 months before Leguisano’s disappearance.
“They were found in a wooden house with the bodies of their travel companions,” the senators continued.
“The United States cannot and will not tolerate the assault of its citizens while traveling abroad. By all public accounts, Ms. Leguisano’s kidnap was an act of extortion. An attack of this nature on a United States citizen is an affront to the United States,” the letter continued.
A FAMILY’S FIGHT FOR ANSWERS
Leguisano’s son, Edgar Chong Leguisano, told the Des Moines Register in September that his family received an eerie message shortly after his mother’s disappearance.
Someone asked the family for money in exchange for Leguisano’s return.
That message was sent on August 14, along with a photo that looked like Leguisano.
But they weren’t able to verify the message.
“My mom’s a fighter,” Chong Leguisano told the Des Moines Register.
“She’s not going down without a fight. I know that she’s aware the situation she’s in. I know she’s depending on God.”
Another son, Brian Garay, is taking matters into his own hands.
He’s hired a private investigator to help as Leguisano’s disappearance nears the six-month mark.
“I know my mom is alive. I just know. I feel it in my soul. When you have that connection with someone you truly love, you can just feel it,” Garay told KCCI.
Leguisano is listed on Iowa’s Missing Persons Database.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Grassley, Ernst, and the FBI for comment.
