Mexican authorities halt investigation into ex-candidate’s disappearance at family’s request

Mexico suspends search for missing ex-candidate

MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities suspended their investigation into the disappearance of a former presidential candidate Saturday at his relatives’ request.

The Attorney General’s Office said in a brief statement that the investigation in the case of Diego Fernandez de Cevallos has been halted “out of respect for the family’s wishes.”

Fernandez de Cevallos, who ran unsuccessfully for office in 1994, was reported missing May 15 after his abandoned vehicle was found near his ranch with traces of blood on a pair of scissors.

Diego Fernandez de Cevallos Gutierrez, the politician’s son, released a statement to the media late Friday asking authorities to “stay out of this process in order to help the negotiation.”

The statement appeared to confirm that the family believes Fernandez de Cevallos was kidnapped. However, the Attorney General’s Office has said it cannot confirm an abduction, and police have given no indication of his whereabouts.

A photo of a shirtless, blindfolded man resembling the politician appeared on social networking sites late Thursday.

The picture shows a grim-faced, gray-bearded man with a sheet of plastic in the background. The beard and shape of the face look like those of Fernandez de Cevallos, but the Attorney General’s Office has not confirmed the photo’s authenticity.

The family’s statement did not say whether talks had begun, if they had been contacted by kidnappers or what, if any, demands may have been made.

It is common for Mexican families to try to negotiate directly with kidnappers, but Fernandez de Cevallos’ long-standing position in President Felipe Calderon’s National Action Party, or PAN, makes his family’s request unusual.

While Fernandez de Cevallos, 69, finished second in the 1994 presidential election, his campaign helped set the stage for the PAN’s historic victory in 2000 that ended 71 years of single-party domination in Mexico.

Fernandez de Cevallos has been an elder statesman for the PAN, a power broker who split his time between the Senate and as an attorney representing some of Mexico’s richest businesses.

Mexico has one of the world’s highest kidnapping rates.

Government statistics document about 97 abductions a month, but most kidnappings go unreported due to widespread mistrust of police. The nonprofit Citizens’ Institute for Crime Studies estimates the real rate is closer to 500 a month.

While kidnappers often target wealthy families, they rarely go after politicians as prominent as Fernandez de Cevallos.

Calderon said during a CNN interview this week that he did not think Fernandez de Cevallos was taken by drug gangs trying to send the president a message.

“No, the criminals used to send me a very clear message in another way. I think it’s a very sensitive case,” he said.