A Seattle man says his wife has gone missing in Mexico during a backpacking trip.
Jenny Chen, 26, was last seen April 11 in Oaxaca, says her husband, Jonathan Reinhard. He had planned to meet her in Cancun on April 15, but she never showed.
Chen had been backpacking through Mexico since March, sometimes hitchhiking from town to town and finding accommodations through couchsurfing.com, a social network where travelers find host homes.
“She was having a great time,” he said, mentioning her frequent photo updates on social media. “She called her mother every day and she talked to her friends in China. No one has heard from her since April 11. Everyone’s calling me, worried.”
Reinhard had been planning to meet up with his wife in Cancun, where they planned to hike and go to the beach, but she didn’t keep the appointment. He said he plans to return to Mexico on Friday to search for her, starting in Oaxaca and trying to trace her steps.
“I have a meeting with the private investigation team… and they have some witnesses pointing in what direction she went,” he said.
He also has contacted both the U.S. and Chinese embassies in Mexico (Chen has a Chinese passport) and the Mexican authorities for assistance, but says that he has made little headway with any official government agency.
“I can’t describe my disgust at this point,” he said, about the lack of help.
Reinhard said that several locals in Mexico, including members of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Oaxaca, planned to help him on his search.
He is raising money on GoFundMe to help in her search. He has also set up a Facebook group has been set up to coordinate efforts and share information.
Jenny Chen is 5-feet tall, with black hair and about 105 pounds. She was likely wearing black glasses, jeans, loose shirt, floppy hat and a backpack.
