Arizona woman feared dead was not found alive in Mexico, police say
Arizona authorities have rejected a claim by officials in Tijuana, Mexico, that Shayna Feinman, who vanished in 2024, had been found alive. Physical evidence showed the woman located is not her.
The Yavapai county sheriff's office in Arizona said on Tuesday that a woman found in the Mexican city of Tijuana is not Shayna Feinman, who disappeared in 2024. The statement reverses a claim issued by a Tijuana security agency on Saturday that the missing American had been found alive.
The disappearance
Feinman was reported missing in March 2024, aged 38, in rural Yavapai county, Arizona. Authorities believe she was walking to an acquaintance's home when she was last seen, but she never arrived and did not return to her dog. A search turned up her car abandoned near the place where she had been staying with her boyfriend, Cavett Richards. Her wallet and identification were reportedly inside, and her cellphone was later recovered on nearby land.
The sheriff's office charged Richards and a man named William DalCerro with second-degree murder, conspiracy and concealing a corpse. The charges were later dismissed. A $20,000 reward was offered for information while the investigation continued.
The Tijuana claim and its reversal
On Saturday, the secretariat for security and citizen protection of the Tijuana municipality said a woman had been located the previous day in the city's Encino neighborhood. Its statement included a photo and said investigators had confirmed her identity because her physical characteristics matched the missing person report. It said she was in protective custody while a meeting with the family and US consular officials was arranged.
A sheriff's office spokesperson, Paul Wick, initially said the information was unconfirmed and that there was insufficient evidence to verify her identity. On Tuesday the office said US authorities, using physical evidence, had confirmed to detectives that the person located is not Feinman. The Tijuana secretariat did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The family's reaction
Shayna's sister, Kara Feinman, told the Guardian the confusion likely began with at least one concerned person who became convinced Shayna was in Tijuana and said so on social media. She said she was later cyberbullied online for not reacting warmly enough to the false news. She urged people not to jump to conclusions and called the experience heartbreaking.
