An Ajijic teen who lost his way on a hike into the town’s neighboring mountain range was found safe and sound after a 24-hour search.
Marco Long Venegas, 18, left his village around noon on Sunday, June 24, with family canines Bonnie and Cuca in tow. The boy and his pets were reported missing by his worried mother when they failed to return as darkness fell.
A rescue party from Chapala’s Civil Protection unit, assisted by local mountain runners familiar with the terrain, promptly set out to track down the youth. When he had not been found by the following morning, Civil Protection squads from Jocotepec and Ixtlahuacan de los Membrillos joined the search, heading into the hills from different directions. Long and his pups were located – tired, hungry, but uninjured – around 7 p.m. Monday evening as they made their way down a mountain path about a kilometer from La Cañada near Ixtlahuacan.