Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, July 30, 2026 – Two women found dead in Puerto Vallarta in May remain unidentified more than ten weeks later, prompting Jalisco investigators to ask authorities across Mexico to search their databases for possible matches.
No arrests have been announced in any of the three cases being investigated under femicide protocols.
Alejandro Torres Ramírez, Jalisco’s vice prosecutor overseeing regional investigations, said no relatives have formally identified the first two women. The Fiscalía has now sent requests to every state for missing-person reports, physical descriptions, or other records that could help establish who they were.
The only identified woman was Elizabeth Galindo Martínez, 22. She was reported missing April 29 from Santa María Canchesda in Temascalcingo, State of Mexico, and found dead May 21 along Camino Viejo a Mojoneras near Parque Las Palmas. Her body was later returned to her family.
The cross-state search is particularly relevant in her case. Her disappearance was registered outside Jalisco, but her body was found hundreds of kilometers away in Puerto Vallarta.
The first unidentified woman was found May 10 on an unpaved road near Chimborazo and Camino al Rancho El Pirulí in the Volcanes area. She was believed to be between 35 and 40 years old.
Information circulated during the initial effort to identify her said she wore blue Bermuda shorts and a white blouse with thin black stripes. Her tattoos included a flower near her diaphragm, lettering above her left breast, and an image of San Judas Tadeo on her right arm. Additional tattoos were reported on her left forearm and right shoulder.
The second woman was found May 15 beside Federal Highway 200 near Casa Salinas II, south of the Hyatt Ziva on the road toward Mismaloya. She was believed to be approximately 30 to 40 years old and wore a black top and black shorts.
Her identifying marks included a tattoo resembling Medusa and the initials R and A above an electrocardiogram line. Local search groups circulated those details after the discovery, but neither woman has been publicly matched to a missing-person report.
The three bodies were discovered within 11 days, initially raising concern that the deaths could be connected. Jalisco prosecutors rejected the serial-killer theory on May 27, saying investigators had found no objective or scientific evidence of a common perpetrator.
The Fiscalía said the three women had different preliminary causes of death. One died from wounds caused by a sharp object, another showed indications of possible poisoning, and a third died from drowning. The agency did not publicly assign each cause to a specific victim in that announcement.
The cases continue under femicide investigation protocols. That designation does not represent a final legal determination that each death was a femicide. Mexican judicial standards require violent deaths of women to be investigated with a gender perspective so evidence of a possible gender-related crime is not lost during the initial inquiry.
Earlier Vallarta Daily coverage documented the three discoveries and the subsequent demands from local women’s organizations seeking a stronger response from municipal and state authorities.
Families searching for a missing relative can consult the Jalisco Registry of Unidentified Deceased Persons. The public database includes estimated age, clothing, tattoos, distinguishing marks and the forensic office holding the person’s remains.
Information can also be provided directly to the Fiscalía’s Regional District VIII office at Avenida Las Palmas 315 in Parque Las Palmas. The official state directory lists the Puerto Vallarta office numbers as 322 221 2423, 322 221 3380 and 322 221 1674, with extensions 19009 through 19011.
