SAN MATEO, Calif. — A California woman is set to be reunited with her family after she was released by her captors, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced.
Monica De Leon Barba, of San Mateo, was kidnapped in November 2022 while in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, Mexico while she was walking home with her dog from work.
After she was missing for eight months, the FBI said she was released by her captors on July 14. However, no arrests in the kidnapping have been made, but the investigation is ongoing.
"For the past eight months, FBI personnel in California and Mexico have worked tirelessly with the family and with partners here and in Mexico," said Special Agent In Charge Robert Tripp of the FBI San Francisco Field Office. "Our relief and joy at the safe return of Monica is profound. The FBI investigation is far from over, but we can now work this case knowing an innocent victim is reunited with her family. On behalf of the FBI, I want to extend my sincere thanks to our law enforcement partners, to the family, and to the San Mateo community for their continued engagement and advocacy. They never forgot Monica, and neither did we."
Officials said she is safe and heading back to the United States.
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