In Jalisco, Mexico 16-year-old Salvador Macías was just reunited with his parents after being abducted at birth by a woman disguised as a nurse. 

Macías’ biological parents Rosalía López Martínez and Yasir Macías were ecstatic to welcome their first newborn child on December 14, 2005 at the Mexican Social Security Institute 45 Clinic in Guadalajara. Cuddling up to their bundle of joy, the parents never would have expected what happened just hours after the birth.

A woman disguised as a nurse approached the couple in their hospital room to check on the baby, asking if López Martínez had fed him yet. She then directed Yasir Macías out of the room since visiting hours had ended, going back to take the baby to feed him in another area of the hospital. Tragically, neither the woman nor newborn Salvador Macías were seen again.

While the 2005 investigations were inconclusive, another newborn disappearance from a Jalisco hospital in September 2021 reopened Salvador Macías’ case. Taking a photo of Macías just hours after his birth, the Jalisco Institute of Forensic Sciences used face comparison technology to create a picture of how he would look today. 

The speculative photo worked: a resident from El Salto saw the picture and immediately noticed a resemblance with 16-year-old Salvador Macías, who lived in his neighborhood. He contacted the Jalisco State Office of the Attorney General and sent them photos of Macías today, leading investigators to El Salto. 

It took months to finally hatch a plan to locate exactly where Salvador Macías lived, and how to rescue him.

However, once that was done, a DNA test showed that Macías was indeed Rosalía López Martínez and Yasir Macías’ son. Meanwhile, the couple Macías was living with who pretended to be his actual parents fled the home on Wednesday, leaving the child there alone. As of now, no arrests have been made. 

López Martínez and Macías never lost hope of finding their son, even if the odds were against them. Shown posing next to a table filled with newspaper clippings about their missing son, plus the photos created by the forensic sciences team, no one could have guessed the couple would find their son more than a decade and a half later. As López Martínez told Canal 10, “they told me and that indeed it is my son,” surely feeling indescribable emotions all at once.

Even Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro congratulated the family and investigators alike, tweeting, “From my heart, all my best wishes for this new life that begins today. All my appreciation to Forensic Sciences for their great work…”

Meanwhile Jalisco state strategic coordinator Ricardo Beruben tweeted, “there is news that drives us to continue working hard day by day, like this.”