California couple reported missing in Mexico

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California couple reported missing after traveling to Mexico to collect rent checks from tenants:

Danielle Wallace

By Danielle Wallace

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A couple based in southern California has been missing since last week after leaving for Mexico to collect rent checks from their tenants at properties they own in Tijuana, according to reports Tuesday.

Jesus Ruben Lopez Guillen, 70, and his wife Maria Teresa Lopez, 65, left their home in Garden Grove, Calif., in Orange County in their pick-up truck Friday morning, Garden Grove Police Department Lt. Carl Whitney told Los Angeles’ KNBC-TV.  The couple was expected to return to California Friday afternoon. Their daughter reported them missing at about 7:10 p.m.

The daughter told authorities she was tracking her parents using the Find My Phone app. She said the app showed her parents were at one of their properties in Tijuana. Despite this, she said a relative told her over the phone that no one was at that location when the family member went to check on them.

Maria Teresa Lopez, 65, and Jesus Ruben Lopez Guillen, 70, were reported missing by their daughter in Garden Grove, Calif.

Maria Teresa Lopez, 65, and Jesus Ruben Lopez Guillen, 70, were reported missing by their daughter in Garden Grove, Calif. (Garden Grove Police Department)

The phone later stopped transmitting a signal. Police in Tijuana found the couple’s vehicle near the property, Whitney said. FBI and Mexican authorities have been notified about the search for the couple.

The couple planned to arrive in Tijuana and first go to the bank to take out cash in pesos, EN24 reported, citing Raul Gutierrez, a spokesman for the Baja California Prosecutor’s Office in Mexico.

The next stop was supposed to be the exchange house, where they were to change the money into U.S. dollars. The couple then planned to visit tenants in several houses in the Obrera neighborhood to collect rent in cash. Mexican authorities are still working to verify if the couple visited these locations, Gutierrez said.

Garden Grove Police is asking anyone with information to call Detective Richard Desbiens at (714) 741-5810. The Baja California Prosecutor’s Office in Mexico also encourages those with knowledge of the couple’s whereabouts to call (664) 607-7332 and (664) 683-9646.

The Mazatlan Post