American Tourist Disappears in Southern Chihuahua

Fear He Was Killed by Cartels

La Polaka:  An American tourist, Parrick Braxton-Andrew, disappeared while on a trip to Copper Canyon.  His parents fear he was killed by persons affiliated with the Narco world in that part of Chihuahua.  He was seen last on Sunday afternoon in Urique, a small village in Southern Chihuahua.  He left South Carolina on October 24, flying to Mexico to take the Copper Canyon train, which he boarded on October 25.  He spent the night on the rim of the Canyon, in Posada Barrancas, a hotel on Km 622 ot the "Chepe" (nickname for the train) route, and arrived in Urique on the 27th on public transportation.  He left his hotel there on foot to visit the surrounding area and never returned.  Urique is at the bottom of the Canyon has a lively tourist trade in the Fall and Winter, because of the spectacular scenery and birdwatching. Poppies and marijuana plants are said to be grown near Urique.

While there is a lot of movement of illicit drugs in Southern Chihuahua (as there is virtually everywhere in Chihuahua), and violence sometimes erupts between organizations associated with drug trafficking, or with police, tourists have not normally been the target of attack.