Body of Missing LA, Ca Fire Fighter Found Burned near Tijuana, Baja Ca, Mexico

Yaqui for Borderland Beat

LAFD firefighter and paramedic Francisco Aguilar, who went missing in August 2020 in Baja, CA

Thanks to the Commenter for the lead on this story.

Published by the LA Times as well as many other sources both US and Mexican in November. 

Francisco Aguilar, the 20-year veteran of the Los Angeles Fire Department who went missing in Mexico in August, was killed in Rosarito by kidnappers, Mexican authorities said Wednesday afternoon.

Authorities in Baja California said two people have been arrested in connection with his death, a couple they identified only as Fanny and Santos.

According to the Fiscalia General del Estado de Baja California, Aguilar met with the woman, Fanny, on Aug. 20 for a sexual encounter in Rosarito. She identified herself to him as "Monserrat". Instead, she and Santos attempted to kidnap him, officials said.

“Things didn’t turn out like they thought they would,” Hiram Sanchez Zamora, an official with the Fiscalia General del Estado de Baja California, said during a Wednesday media briefing in Mexico.

The couple are accused of killing Aguilar and taking his body to Boulevard 2000 in Tijuana, a highway that connects Tijuana and Rosarito, where they burned the body, he said. Officials found the burned body on Oct. 23 and Aguilar’s family was notified of his death on Wednesday. He had been missing 2 months.

“This is a tragic outcome to a case we were hoping would end differently,” said Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Ralph Terrazas in an emailed statement. “On behalf of the men and women of the LAFD, we send our deepest condolences to Firefighter Aguilar’s family and we stand ready to assist them in the days to come.”

The LAFD and the FBI, which had been assisting Mexican authorities in the search for Aguilar, both referred questions to Mexican authorities.

The Los Angeles Fire Department "was notified this afternoon that authorities in Mexico determined" that the remains were those of Francisco "Frank" Aguilar, the agency said in a statement.

Aguilar, 48, was last seen on Aug. 20 at his condominium near Rosarito, a popular coastal destination in Baja California. He was believed to have been the victim of a violent kidnapping.

A couple, identified only as 32-year-old Fanny N. and 27-year-old Santos N., were arrested last month in possession of bank cards with Aguilar's name on them, authorities said. The cards had been used at different businesses in Rosarito, Ensenada and Tijuana after his disappearance, investigators said.

The FBI said "Fanny N." allegedly lured Aguilar into meeting her for a date. Instead, Santos N. helped to kidnap him.

Authorities say blood stains matching Aguilar were found at the scene and witnesses in the area reported hearing gunshots.

During the November Press conference given by the FGE the prosecutor mentioned that "Fanny" was married and her husband is an ex employee of the old PGJ who was dismissed when it was discovered that he also was involved with Fanny who already had several cases of investigations related to vehicle fraud.

"It's heartless. They took a family member, a father, a fireman and just used his stuff like normal. It's disgusting," said Aguilar's daughter . His home was found ransacked and his Jeep and other possessions are missing.

According to family members, Aguilar visited the area frequently and had been in contact with them through WhatsApp and FaceTime. But he suddenly stopped communicating with them, the family told KCAL-TV, Channel 9. When relatives went to his condo, they found his vehicle gone and his home ransacked.

“We were on FaceTime the other day, and he was on the beach and just talking ... about how it was so much fun and this was a little taste of what retirement would be like for him,” his daughter  told the station in August. “I just pray with every fiber in my being that my father returns to us.”

Source: LA Times/ https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-11-04/missing-lafd-firefighter-found-dead-in-mexico

Source: AFN TJ  http://www.afntijuana.info/seguridad/111934_bombero_estadounidense_fue_asesinado_y_calcinado