That same afternoon, Patricia filed a missing person report at the public prosecutor’s office in Gustavo A. Madero. The officer who took her report—a middle-aged man with a tired look—handled it with a mix of routine and skepticism that Patricia found unsettling.
“Ma’am, many men leave for a few days and come back when they cool off or run out of money.”
Patricia insisted that Roberto wasn’t like that, that something terrible must have happened. The officer sighed, filled out the forms, and gave her a case number. She was told to wait 72 hours before it would be considered an official disappearance requiring active investigation.
Those 72 hours were an eternity.
Patricia didn’t sleep. She constantly called Roberto’s phone, which remained off. She visited hospitals and Red Cross clinics in the area, asking if any man matching his description had been admitted.
