Corpus Christi, TX. — The U.S. Marshals Service announced Jan. 20 that a child missing for more than four years has been safely recovered in Mexico and reunited with family in Corpus Christi following an extensive international investigation.
According to the agency, the investigation began after Neftaly Garcia kidnapped his daughter and fled to the La Angostura region of Chiapas, Mexico. Around the same time, authorities took two individuals into custody in connection with an alleged murder-for-hire plot involving the child’s mother, Angela Buitrago-Paredes.
Buitrago-Paredes reported her daughter missing days later when Garcia failed to return the child under their shared custody arrangement.
At the request of the Portland Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service assumed lead responsibility for the case and coordinated with domestic and international partners. Investigators followed leads, pursued legal remedies, and worked closely with Mexican law enforcement while confirming that Buitrago-Paredes continued legal efforts in both countries.
A key development occurred when Mexican authorities sought a provisional arrest warrant through treaty channels, coordinated by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs. That action, combined with sustained investigative cooperation, led to Garcia’s arrest in Mexico and the child’s safe recovery.
Pursuant to court orders issued in both Mexico and the United States, the child was placed into Buitrago-Paredes’s physical custody.
The U.S. Marshals Service credited assistance from numerous partners, including law enforcement authorities in Chiapas, the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office, the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office, multiple U.S. Marshals districts, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Corpus Christi Field Office, Interpol’s National Central Bureau of Mexico, and Mexico’s National Institute of Migration.
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