An Ajijic native of Mexican and U.S. parentage abducted on the evening of Friday, December 14 was found dead early the following morning at the edge of an isolated back road near the boundary of El Salto and Tlajomulco. The site is situated a short distance from the Chapala-Guadalajara highway.
Ramon del Arco, Chapala’s public security chief, told the Reporter that John James Baugh Huerta, 23, was snatched off the street as he was heading home with his two young children after an outing at the waterfront Ajijic Malecon. Eye witnesses told police that a group of armed men jumped out of two minivans, grabbed Baugh and forced him into one of the vehicles before speeding away from the scene. A police patrol dispatched to search for the perpetrators was unsuccessful. Del Arco said that the youngsters, aged one and three, were safely escorted home after being left standing on the sidewalk unharmed.Responding to an anonymous tip, Tlajomulco police discovered the corpse at 10:50 a.m. Saturday. The victim suffered two gunshot wounds to the head and multiple contusions from beating to various parts of his body. Several media outlets reported that the killers left behind a written message typical to the modus operandi of organized crime groups.