THE BORDER REPORT

This just came in off the tipline, it seems the husband of a U.S. citizen has gone missing somewhere on that magical highway between Naco and Cananea, Sonora. Lots and lots of things happen on that 35 mile stretch of road, many of them terrible, none of them clear.

If it bears out, and so far it seems to, this isn't good. Last week, the Mexican Army uncovered a grave with what they said were four bodies inside. Others, including a Cananea law enforcement source, tell me it was actually 11 bodies in that grave.

That doesn't include eight more people have been reported missing between June 19 and today. It says something of what's been happening in Cananea lately that the families of the eight missing men all willingly went to police. What's always stayed inside, between the families, is now on the outside. This smells of panic.

Along with a U.S. citizen who disappeared was the husband of a woman who called me this afternoon to talk about her case.

Her husband, Ricardo Diaz, was living in Cananea while waiting for Homeland Security to process his immigration visa. He was working as a chef for a country club in Dallas. According to an internal e-mail from the U.S. State Department, Diaz and an American national, Scott Liedtke, were stopped by Naco police June 19 about 10 p.m. ...

"Mr. Scott along with Mr. Funk Diaz were stopped by Naco Police for drinking and driving and taken to the police station, where both were interrogated by the local police, the PEI and the AFI. Mr. Scott was asked about the black corvette he was driving police thought the vehicle might be stolen, but after checking that the vehicle was not stolen and that none of the two suspects had anything on them, local police gave Mr. Scott a ticket because he was driving without a license and then both took of in the corvette and left Naco."

We'll see how this turns out.

-- Michel Marizco