It has been just over a month since a Mexican national virtually vanished from Osoyoos, B.C.
The Consul General of Mexico, Berenice Diaz Ceballos, arrived in Osoyoos this week to help with the search for 30-year-old Carlos Tomas Aranda Burgoin, who was last seen on July 7, 2023.
“His family in Mexico is very worried and they are obviously very concerned about the disappearance of Carlos,” said Ceballos.
“We want to strengthen the search and the rescue of Carlos and that is why I came personally to talk to the authorities and to talk to the community and to move forward with the investigation into Carlos since a lot of days have passed already.”
Back in July, Global News spoke with the family who said they knew something was wrong when they lost contact with Burgoin.
“The truth is, his characteristics are very communicative with his parents, with all of us. We’re very worried because it is not normal that he doesn’t communicate for this long,” said Carlos’ father, Octavio Aranda, back in July.
“It’s been almost two weeks and we have no news, zero news of him since when the last time he was seen, and we’re desperate.”
Surveillance video captured Burgoin and his friends in a store before he was reported missing, wearing grey pants, a black and green hoodie and black running shoes.
According to the family, Burgoin was then last seen in the Spirit Ridge Resort area.
Officials say a broad search was conducted, however there has been no new information since then. Global News did reach out to Osoyoos RCMP for comment, but they were unavailable.
“What we know is that Carlos was last seen in a hotel, the police arrived there and tried to talk to him,” said Ceballos.
“They were going to take him back to the farm where he was working but suddenly, he ran into the darkness, into the hills.”
Immediately after Burgion was reported missing, his father travelled to Osoyoos from Mexico to search for his son.
However, he has since had to return home.
“He was here for 18 days trying to search for Carlos with the help from the community and some associations,” said Ceballos.
Burgoin is unfamiliar with the area and speaks limited English. Concern for his well-being continues to grow, especially as more days pass by.
“We are very worried about where Carlos could be and that’s why we are trying to look all over the place,” added Ceballos.
The Consul General plans to remain in Osoyoos for another day to hand out flyers and meet with more local businesses and officials.
“We’re trying to do everything we can to find Carlos,” said Ceballos.
Anyone with information about Burgoin’s whereabouts is being urged to contact RCMP.
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