Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, July 28, 2026 – Three unidentified bodies were recovered from the Ameca and Mascota river systems between Monday morning and Tuesday, leaving authorities in Jalisco and Nayarit with separate investigations along the boundary between Puerto Vallarta and Bahía de Banderas.
The timing refers to the recovery of the bodies. Authorities have not established when the three people died, and no evidence connecting the cases had been disclosed by Tuesday afternoon.
The first body, an unidentified woman, was spotted Sunday between El Colomo and Tebelchía along the Ameca River. Pescadores found her caught among a fallen tree and debris, but conditions in the channel and surrounding terrain delayed recovery until Monday morning.
The woman was described as having a slender build and long hair. A cause of death had not been released, and the Fiscalía General del Estado de Nayarit opened an investigation.
Later Monday, emergency crews responded to the Mascota River behind the Banús and Verde Vallarta housing developments in the Ixtapa delegation. The unidentified man was found near a gravel-extraction area in a section of the river that was difficult to reach.
Initial reporting from the recovery site described the man as partially buried in accumulated soil and wearing a blue shirt and black underwear. Regional reports estimated his age at between 30 and 35.
The third recovery began shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday when a body was reported at one of the gates of the La Gaviota diversion dam near El Colomo. The location was on the Nayarit side of the Ameca River.
Bahía de Banderas municipal police found the man floating face down near the gate. State police, municipal Civil Protection and firefighters, criminal investigators and forensic personnel joined the operation.
The man was unclothed and in an advanced state of decomposition. A tattoo was visible near his upper back or neck, but personnel at the scene could not identify its design. His remains were taken to the medical examiner’s facility in Jarretaderas, where examinations will seek to establish his identity and cause of death.
The geography explains why agencies from both states became involved. The Ameca River forms part of the boundary between Jalisco and Nayarit, while the Mascota River is one of its principal tributaries.
A detailed account of the Tuesday recovery said the first two bodies were transferred to the medical examiner’s office in Puerto Vallarta, while the third remained under Nayarit jurisdiction. Prosecutors in the two states were coordinating their work, although no connection among the deaths had been established.
Jalisco maintains an online registry of unidentified deceased people, searchable by details including date, sex and the presence of tattoos. The Nayarit Fiscalía also publishes identification notices involving bodies held by its medical examiner’s service.
The investigations remained open Tuesday as forensic examinations and identification work continued.
