Medina Remains Missing After A Month
The direction of the investigation into Christopher Medina’s disappearance is unknown. There are no known suspects.
One month has passed since the disappearance of 29-year-old Mountainair resident Christopher Medina, and little is publicly known about the matter. Torrance County Sheriff David Frazee acknowledged this, stating that the Torrance County Sheriff’s Office is “at a stalemate.” Currently, Frazee explained, the leads reported to the Sheriff’s Office have not provided investigators with sufficient information to guide their searches for Medina. Since Medina’s disappearance, however, no one has used any of the credit or debit cards in Medina’s name, and there has been no successful tracking of Medina’s cellphone. Frazee cautioned about individuals making assumptions regarding the case, stating “There is no indication that [Medina] is deceased.” Frazee encouraged anyone with information to come forward by contacting the Torrance County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 505-544-4424 or the Torrance County Sheriff’s Office main line at 505-544-4900.
Just before Frazee’s discussion regarding the status of the case, Christopher’s father, Tony, conducted a Facebook Live video session on April 27, 2023 (the Medina family did not respond to repeated requests for interviews). Tony began his video by talking as though he were speaking to his son, saying, “You never went [missing for] this long.” He then recalled alleged past instances when Christopher went missing, saying that the two had gone weeks without talking.
Tony Medina’s Facebook Live event then shifted course, covering Christopher’s appearance and when people had allegedly reported seeing Christopher to him. Tony said that Christopher was 5’6” tall, weighing 125 pounds. In terms of distinguishing scars, marks, and tattoos, Tony referenced a long scar on Christopher’s left arm and a chest tattoo. Tony claimed people had seen Christopher walking eastbound on Beal Street in Mountainair and in Belen and Los Lunas, although he did not identify who had allegedly seen Christopher.
Tony claimed to receive a telephone call approximately three weeks ago in which he first heard a girl crying, then a man who claimed to be with “the cartel.”(1) Tony said that the man recounted that his daughter, Sharaya Medina, had hit her car and threatened to kill Sharaya if Tony did not pay $10,000. During the call, Tony claimed, he made contact with his daughter and verified she had not been in a car accident. Subsequently, the caller hung up on Tony. No law enforcement officer has verified the details of this telephone call.
Given the statements made by Sheriff Frazee, the direction of the official investigation into Christopher Medina’s disappearance is unknown. Tony Medina has claimed that law enforcement has conducted searches related to the investigation and that there are possible suspects in this matter. Courts have not issued search warrants for law enforcement in this case yet. Law enforcement has mentioned no suspects by name.
Footnotes
- With respect to the transnational organizations involved in the drug trade, there is no one cartel; intelligence professionals assess that the current active Mexican cartels - in order of size - include Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), the Sinaloa Cartel (CDS) AKA Los Chapitos, Los Zetas, the Gulf Cartel, and the Juarez Cartel. In this area of operations, CJNG, CDS, and Los Zetas are most active.