Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, October 30, 2026 — Families seeking Melissa Carranza and Violeta Santana plan a protest outside Walmart Pitillal at 10 a.m. Saturday, October 31.
The announcement calls for a peaceful march and road obstruction on Boulevard Francisco Medina Ascencio. Relatives and search collectives are demanding progress in locating Melissa Anahí Carranza Contreras, 19, and Violeta Alejandra Santana Bueno, 21, who disappeared in July.
The gathering is planned near the military installation, in front of Walmart. For residents traveling through that stretch Saturday morning, the immediate question is how much of the boulevard the demonstration could affect.
The announced obstruction could therefore affect trips through the area, including journeys to work or the surrounding shops. Its scale remains unresolved, with no verified basis for giving motorists a reopening time.
The collective Una Luz Para Nuestros Desaparecidos Puerto Vallarta has joined the families’ appeal, inviting students, parents and other residents to participate.
“Puerto Vallarta, we need your solidarity!” the collective wrote in Spanish in an appeal. The invitation asks people to accompany the families even if they do not know them personally.
Melissa and Violeta disappeared after leaving Acatlán de Juárez on July 27. Their relatives say they were traveling toward Puerto Vallarta after receiving a job offer. Vallarta Daily covered the women’s disappearance following the reported employment offer in August.
Subsequent reporting placed both women at Puerto Vallarta’s bus terminal. Investigators obtained surveillance footage showing them with another woman before they reportedly boarded a private vehicle. A search in an area known as La Palapa did not locate them.
Saturday’s demonstration brings that continuing search onto one of Vallarta’s principal roads. Organizers are asking participants to wear a white shirt or bring a photograph of a missing relative.
