New footage of the missing dog walker, 29, who disappeared in Mexico shows her just seconds before the kidnapping
The FBI has released HORRIBLE surveillance footage of a dog walker being kidnapped in Mexico.
Monica de Leon Barba, 29, was kidnapped in November while walking home from work with her pet in Tepatitlán, Jalisco.
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Thursday’s release came after the FBI’s San Francisco field office released more surveillance footage of the kidnapping earlier this month.
The FBI hopes the videos will help the public identify Barba’s kidnapper.
In the clip, she is confronted by a group of people who force the US citizen into a silver Volkswagen Jetta.
In addition to this vehicle, other suspects can be seen driving away in a Dodge Charger and a white Chevrolet Suburban.
The FBI believes at least five people were involved in the kidnapping.
In the video, Barba’s dog can be seen freely on the street.
The animal was later found safe and is now living with one of Barba’s family members.
The victim was born in Jalisco but has lived most of her life in San Mateo, California — a suburb about 20 miles south of San Francisco — SFGATE reported.
By June 2022, she was spending most of her time in Jalisco.
“We believe this was a targeted kidnapping,” Robert Tripp, the FBI’s acting special agent, told KTVU last month.
“We believe she is still being held hostage. The kidnappers have been in contact with her family and the FBI is working very closely with her family and the authorities in Mexico to bring her home safely.”
Barba is 5’7″ and weighs 240 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. She was wearing black clothes when she disappeared.
A $40,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to their safe return.
Barba’s cousin Gael de Leon, 20, was kidnapped just hours before she was kidnapped in the Mexican state of Guadalajara. He too is still missing.
“I hope and plead that anyone who knows or has seen these individuals or vehicles will help us bring them to the attention of the FBI,” Barba’s brother Gustavo de Leon told SFGATE.