9 Cases of Missing Hispanic and Latino Persons in Alaska

Stories, Updates, and How to Help

Alaska is a virtually unexplored territory that holds many secrets, one of which is the whereabouts of missing persons in that U.S. state.

There are 731,545 people living there (according to the 2019 census), and currently, at least 1,200 people are reported missing, of which nine cases involve Hispanic and Latino individuals.

In today’s article, we aim to shed more light on these missing persons cases in Alaska, as they are not widely known to the public. All these cases have been listed in NamUs and/or the Charley Project, two platforms dedicated to the search for missing and lost persons in the United States.

Magdalena Pérez (1988)

Magdalena Perez-Borkoski

Also known as Magdalena Borkoski in some media.

Magdalena was born on September 29, 1954, and disappeared on July 10, 1988, at the age of 33. She was last seen when a friend dropped her off at 600 W 34th Avenue in Anchorage.

Distance between the area where Magdalena was dropped off and the McDonald’s in Anchorage.

It is known that she was going to meet her ex-husband and pick up her son at the McDonald’s restaurant located at 36th and Old Seward.

Magdalena never arrived at the restaurant, and her vehicle was later found at the airport, but during the investigation, it was discovered that she did not board any flight.

Her case is being investigated as a homicide, although her body has not been found and nothing more has been heard from her to this day.

Luis Hermosillo Villalobos (1996)

Luis Hermosillo Villalobos

Luis was last seen on June 12, 1996, at the age of 25, when he was swept away during an avalanche in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.

Mount Saint Elias, Alaska. Source: Wikipedia.

He was climbing with four friends on Mount St. Elias, near Haydon Peak at an altitude of 3,000 meters (about 9,842.5 feet), when the entire group was swept down the mountain. The other four survived, but Luis remains missing to this day.

At the time, the search was hampered by strong winds and unstable snow conditions. He is presumed deceased.

Layla Marie Gallegos (2002)

Layla Marie Gallegos

Layla is the daughter of Enrique Gallegos González and Michele Gallegos. The couple divorced in 1999, during which time Michele suffered from alcoholism and was admitted to a recovery program.

Because of this, Enrique obtained full custody of his children Layla (2) and Quique (5), and took them to live in San Luis Potosí (México). The agreement was that the children would spend summers with their mother in Eagle River (Alaska).

However, in February 2002, Enrique shot and killed Quique and then took his own life in the same manner. Layla’s custody was then temporarily granted to Enrique’s mother, Yolanda González García.

Although a U.S. judge ordered Yolanda to return Layla to her mother, she refused. It is believed that both live in México and have even returned to Alaska to visit relatives, but nothing more has been heard from Layla.

[embed]11 Children Disappeared Near Bodies of Water The oldest case was reported in 1984, and the newest in 2011.karenqc.medium.com

Valeriano Flores Mata (2004)

Valeriano Flores Mata

Valeriano Flores Mata (32) was last seen on or near the fishing vessel Deep Pacific as it was preparing to leave the port of St. Paul on July 24, 2004, at 9:15 p.m.

However, his disappearance was not reported until several hours later, when other crew members noticed his absence.

Both the U.S. Coast Guard and St. Paul Police searched for Valeriano by sea and land but could not find him.

Miguel Rodríguez (2007)

Miguel Rodríguez

Miguel (43) was last seen on August 4, 2007, while drinking and fishing at the back of a boat docked at Roosevelt Harbor, on Zarembo Island.

The last people to see him were his coworkers between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. He was reported missing after they found Miguel’s fishing rod and wallet at the harbor.

Although he was searched for extensively, Miguel could not be found.

José Guadalupe González Trejo (2016)

José Guadalupe González Trejo

José (46) was last seen on July 15, 2016, in Anchorage. That day, he attended a barbecue with his neighbors and then left his house on foot.

That night, he made a phone call (recipient not specified), and nothing has been heard from him since.

Update: In the summer of 2021, Alaska State Police recovered human remains in Turnagain Pass, south of Anchorage, and in early 2022, these were identified as belonging to José Guadalupe González Trejo. His cause of death is now considered a homicide.

Natalia Molina Valenzuela (2016)

Natalia Molina Valenzuela

Natalia (24), originally from Colombia, was last seen on September 8, 2016. She was working as a crew member on the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship.

When the ship was in Funter Bay, off the coast of Alaska, the young woman fell overboard (it is unclear whether it was intentional or an accident).

The Coast Guard was alerted at 5:30 a.m. after Natalia was not found in her cabin. She was searched for 42 hours, covering 880 square kilometers in Lynn Canal, without success.

Although she is presumed deceased, her body has not been found.

David Perez (2021)

David Perez

The Anchorage Police Department is requesting information about the whereabouts of David Perez, 68, after relatives from another state reported they had not heard from him since March 9, 2021.

After checking David Perez’s house, police noted he had not been there for several days. His truck was later found abandoned on the Kenai Spur Highway, near Captain Cook State Park.

The area was searched with trained dogs, but no trace of Perez was found.

Blanca Abigail Mendez (2021)

Blanca Abigail Mendez

Blanca Abigail Mendez was 27 years old when she was last seen on April 28, 2021. Her last sighting was at the “Hacienda Mexican Restaurant” in Anchorage.

Her case has not received media coverage, nor is there more information about the circumstances of her disappearance.

Victor Hugo Moreno (2021)

Victor Hugo Moreno

Victor Hugo, 60 years old at the time of his disappearance, was last seen on a boat near Surprise Cove in Prince William Sound, near Whittier, around midnight on August 21, 2021.

There were four other people on the boat, who only noticed his absence at 6:00 a.m. It is believed that Victor Hugo Moreno fell overboard, but a search in the water yielded no results, and nothing has been heard from him since.

Finally

These are nine cases of Hispanic and Latino individuals who have gone missing in Alaska and have been reported to state authorities. There may be additional cases, as not all disappearances are reported — especially within Hispanic and Latino communities.

If you have information about the whereabouts of these missing persons, do not hesitate to contact the relevant authorities:

• Alaska State Troopers: (907) 269–5511
• Anchorage Police Department: (907) 786–8900

This article was written originally in Spanish and translated into English in an effort to raise awareness about missing persons in the Americas.