Shayna Feinman, an American woman missing for two years, wrongly located in Tijuana

“Is she alive or not?” That is the torturous uncertainty Shayna Feinman’s family has lived with for the past four days. The last time the American woman was seen alive was more than two years ago, in March 2024, while she was walking to a friend’s house in Yavapai County, Arizona. Since then she has been missing and presumed dead. That was until October 24, when the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) of Tijuana, Mexico, announced on social media that she had been found alive. However, in a turn of events Kara Feinman, her sister, described on her Facebook page as “turmoil” and “heartbreaking,” authorities in Arizona said their Mexican counterparts were plainly wrong, having located and identified a different person by mistake.

Criticism from Arizona law enforcement of the Tijuana police came after the discovery was posted without prior proper verification. “The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) is aware of circulating news reports regarding the alleged discovery of Shayna Feinman. Those news stories were published without official law enforcement confirmation,” the agency said in a statement on its social media accounts.

According to the YCSO investigation, Feinman, who was 38 the last time she was seen, was believed to have been walking to a friend’s house. She never arrived at that destination or returned home with her dog. In the days after her disappearance, her car was found abandoned near where she lived with her boyfriend, Cavett Richards. Her wallet and identification were inside the vehicle, and her cellphone was later discovered on nearby land.

Although Feinman was not found, Yavapai County authorities later charged Richards and William DalCerro, the owner of the property where the couple lived, with second-degree murder, conspiracy, and concealment of a body in connection with her disappearance. Those charges were later dismissed. A $20,000 reward remains available for information as investigators continue to probe the case.

The SSPC of Tijuana said it located Feinman on the afternoon of Friday, October 23, in the Encino neighborhood. Its post stated that the person was “a woman whose characteristics matched those of the person reported missing.” The Mexican agency’s statement included a photo of a woman seated across from an official at a desk, on which one of the missing-person flyers with Feinman’s information is visible.

“After confirming her identity, officers provided her with protection and shelter and transferred her to a secure location so that U.S. consular officials and her family could make contact and follow the appropriate procedures,” the SSPC of Tijuana said in its statement.

A spokesperson for the SSPC told EL PAÍS that when interviewed by municipal authorities the woman claimed to be Feinman. “Given the woman’s assertion of being who she said she was, the consular authority was notified, and it was the consular authority’s responsibility to authenticate that claim or to establish the identity of the person who said she was a U.S. citizen,” the municipality’s statement said.

Kara Feinman told The Guardian that, in her view, the confusion about the possibility that her sister might be in Tijuana initially arose after at least one concerned person became convinced she was there and posted about it on social media. EL PAÍS contacted the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana and the YCSO about how the identity check was carried out and whether there were communication failures between the agencies of both countries, but as of the publication of this article no response had been received.

After the social-media announcement about the alleged recovery, both Kara Feinman and the Yavapai sheriff’s office received the Tijuana officials’ statement with obvious skepticism. Kara, in an interview with a local Arizona outlet over the past weekend, acknowledged that the woman in the SSPC of Tijuana photo had “similar physical attributes” to Shayna’s but said she preferred to be cautious: “I can only hope and pray for good news, but right now, we have to be realistic, rational and calm.”

Finally, after several days, the YCSO confirmed what had been feared: “Today, U.S. authorities confirmed to YCSO detectives, utilizing physical evidence, that the individual located is not Shayna Feinman. Detectives continue to work diligently with the family during this stressful time.”

Lance Leising, a former FBI agent and an expert in missing-person searches, said, “It’s outrageous that [the SSPC of Tijuana] would post something on social media before confirming it with a U.S. law enforcement agency. It’s a terrible action.”

“If you have heard about the woman in Mexico with features similar to Shayna, please take a moment to read the following: It is not her. Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to help and share the information until we could confirm the facts and issue a definitive statement. And above all, thank you for your kindness and support. [...] The search is not over,” Kara Feinman wrote Tuesday on her Facebook page.

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