About 300 people from the villages of Yelapa, Quimixto, Chacala and Puerto Vallarta marched Sunday night to demand answers in the missing case of Miriam Patricia Almanza, a young attorney missing since October 16, 2015.
The female attorney was last seen at the Starbucks on the Malecon of Puerto Vallarta before disappearing. She was attending a meeting and has disappeared without a trace.
Ana Almanza, sister of the missing attorney, said that there has not been any progress in the investigation of her missing sister. ‘We want her back alive, not just her body, she went missing alive in broad day light in the center of the city, that is how we want her returned,’ said Ana.
Ana said she would not wish anyone to go through what she and her family are going through now.
‘Part of me is dying slowly every day she is gone. There have been ten days with no news about her whereabouts. That is ten days without sleeping or eating, ten days where your heart hurts every day,’ she said.
The protest started at Agustín Flores Contreras Sports Complex as people marched into centro and City Hall, just steps away from where Miriam was last seen. Protesters carried signs in both English and Spanish and alluded to the fact that this isn’t an isolated case in Puerto Vallarta.
This year several people have disappeared from the city, including a City Councilman and a young female dance instructor. Families of the missing accuse authorities of not doing enough to find their loved ones, sometimes not even opening official missing person’s files for days after the report is made.
