The Puzzling Disappearance of the Pecoso-Chavez Family
FOGGY: Welcome to Buzzfeed Unsolved, and today we’re covering the puzzling disappearance of the Pecoso-Chavez family. Let’s get started.
FOG. (narrating): On June 15, 2018, Elena Pecoso, Amalia Chavez, and their eight-year-old daughter, America, went for a walk in Starr Park near their home in Los Angeles, California, leaving their younger daughter, four-year-old Catalina Pecoso, in the care of Chavez’s mother, Maria del Mar Chavez. However, the family never returned home. According to the elder Ms. Chavez, they had planned on returning in roughly two to three hours, so when four hours went by and they still hadn’t arrived home or contacted her, she began to grow worried. She made repeated attempts to reach both her daughter and her daughter-in-law via cellphone, but not only did she receive no reply, she found the line dead with each attempt. This alarmed her so much that she contacted the police, however, according to Ms. Chavez, they simply told her the phones were probably turned off or out of range of any cell tower. This explanation failed to satisfy her, however, as she had never known both women to have their cellphones off at the same time when they were together, and because both they, and she herself had gone to Starr Park many times and never had any trouble with cellphone reception while there. Ms. Chavez was unable to convince the police that anything was wrong, however, and so, at around five p.m., five hours after Elena, Amalia and America had departed, she put Catalina in her stroller and went to Starr Park to look for them. However, she could find no trace of Amalia, Elena, or America. According to Ms. Chavez, she continued searching the park and questioning anyone she came across regarding her daughter, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter, until around seven o’clock that evening, but was unable to learn anything. She then began searching the neighborhood, even going door-to-door, but still was unable to uncover any clues as to the family’s whereabouts. At around eight forty-five, having still made no progress in locating her family, Ms. Chavez once again contacted the police, who at this point were forced to admit that something was most likely wrong. They arrived at Starr Park and began combing it and the surrounding area and asking questions of people in the neighborhood, but had little more success than Maria Chavez had had. There was no sign of any sort of struggle having occurred anywhere in the park. Moreover, since these types of parks have no records of who visit them and when, it was difficult to find witnesses right away, so the police put out notices asking anyone who might have seen the family on that day to come forward. Though a few did admit to having seen the family that day, no one was able to shed any light on what may have happened to them. Three days later, on June 18, however, a couple named Matthew Johnson and Ryan Roberts came forward, claiming that they had thought they heard a little girl scream at around one o’clock that afternoon, however, on rushing to the area where they thought the sound had come from, they had found no one there, and after spending some time searching, found no sign of anyone having been there, and so shrugged it off. Cynthia Chung, who had been visiting the park with her one-year-old daughter, reported a similar experience, as well as seeing a bright flash of light. Several other parkgoers also reported a similar bright light, but were unable to shed any further light on the family’s disappearance. In the weeks and months that followed, police continued to search for the mothers and daughter, but found no trace of them. With that, it’s time to get into some theories.
FOG.: (continuing narration): Our first theory is that the family was abducted, and either were murdered, or are being held captive to this day. Some posit that one or two were killed, and that whoever was spared is still being held hostage. These are generally considered the likeliest scenarios. However, no remains or traces of blood or bodies were ever found. The Los Angeles neighborhood wherein the family lived, and where Starr Park is located, is entirely suburban, and does not border the outskirts of the city, meaning that hiding a body anywhere in the area would be difficult, let alone three bodies. It is true that Starr Park functions as a sort of rural area within an urban setting, but there were multiple people there that day, as indeed there are most days, meaning that hiding three bodies there without attracting attention would have been virtually impossible. Nevertheless, the park grounds were dug up, and the lake within the park was dragged in the weeks and months following the family’s disappearance, and no remains were discovered. Of course, it is possible that their abductors could have taken Elena, America, and Amalia out of the city and murdered them there. Notably, there have been very few reported sightings of them since they vanished, and fewer still with all three of them together. Obviously, this does not bode well for the question of rather they are still alive. Some people still maintain hope, however, particularly for America, who, if she were alive today, would be fourteen years old. Some have even suggested that the little girl was taken, and her mothers murdered, by someone desperate for a child, and unable to have any of their own. However, this theory has a glaring flaw: why abduct an *eight-year-old child*, who would surely remember her real family, as opposed to a much younger one, especially when it is known that there were infants and toddlers present in Starr Park that day?
MATT: Yeah, I’d say that’s grasping at straws.
FOG.: Yeah, I think so, too.
FOG. (continuing narration): Due to America’s age at the time, the idea that she was taken by someone wanting a child of their own has been mostly discredited. However, a similar, somewhat more plausible theory has been put forth. Approximately a year prior to the Pecoso-Chavez family’s disappearance, an eight-year-old girl named Lilía Banderas had drowned in the lake in Starr Park. Lilía was the only child of her mother, Azucena Banderas, who allegedly had been mentally unstable since her daughter’s tragic death, and had already attempted to kidnap two young girls in the area around Lilía’s claiming that they were really her deceased daughter. While she had been placed in a psychiatric facility since then, Ms. Banderas had escaped only a month prior, and hasn’t been found since then. With that in mind, the possibility of her involvement in the family’s disappearance certainly cannot be ruled out, though it also cannot be proven.
MATT: Okay, I could believe she may have been involved somehow.
FOG.: Yeah, like I said, it’s definitely a possibility. Though it does raise the question of how somebody that out of it could pull this off and not get caught for so long.
MATT: Having a mental illness doesn’t make a person stupid, Foggy.
FOG.: Yeah, that’s true. Okay, my bad. I’m sorry.
FOG.: Having covered the more down-to-Earth theories, it’s now time to get into some more otherworldly ones.
MATT: Oh, boy. Here we go.
FOGGY laughs.
FOG.: Our third theory is that the family was abducted by aliens.
MATT: Oh, boy. Here we go.
FOGGY laughs again.
FOG. (resumingnarration): It will be remembered that no signs of a struggle were uncovered at Starr Park, the family’s last known location. Also worth remembering, is that several witnesses claimed to have seen a bright light on the day of their disappearance. Moreover, no trace of the family has ever been found. No DNA, blood, remains, bodies, or anything. You may also recall that very few sightings of the Pecoso-Chavez family, or of Elena, Amalia, or America, have been reported since the time the day on which they vanished.
MATT: Okay, they disappeared in an outdoor area, where rain, wind, and time could easily remove any DNA evidence or anything like that. It doesn’t mean they were abducted by aliens.
FOG.: It’s Los Angeles, California! Just how much rain and wind do you think there was?! In the middle of June, no less!
MATT: So, what, you think they swabbed every blade of grass for DNA?!
FOGGY laughs.
MATT: A park isn’t like a house, you know. They can’t just test every surface for DNA. And even if they could, there’s no guarantee it would even be there and wouldn’t be mixed with other DNA from other people and animals!
FOG.: Okay, I’ll give you that. But it still doesn’t explain the lack of sightings, or the bright light.
MATT: Most sightings in missing persons cases turn out to be false, when they get investigated! And what are the odds you’d find three people who look like them?!
FOGGY laughs again.
FOG.: I notice you have nothing to say about the bright light. You know, that bright flash of light that several people reported seeing.
MATT: That could be anything! It doesn’t prove aliens!
FOGGY laughs yet again.
FOG. (resuming narration): Our final theory is insane, even for me. It posits that the family were sucked into another reality.
MATT: WHAT!?!?
FOG.: Yeah, like I said, this one’s crazy, even for me.
MATT: What even is their argument for this!?
FOG.: I’m not quite sure, to be honest. I don’t think we need to spend much time on this theory, to be honest.
MATT: Well, for once we agree on that.
FOG.: What happened to Elena Pecoso, Amalia Chavez, and America Pecoso Chavez on June 15, 2018, has proved frustratingly difficult to solve. Perhaps one day, the answer to that question will become clear, but for now, the case remains… Unsolved.
THE END.