Not to take anything away from the frantic and, frankly, riveting search for Savannah Guthrie's mom, Nancy - Dr. Alacie and I were glued to the TV last night. Seeing that incredibly creepy, ghastly footage of the fellow ambling up to Mrs Guthrie's front door in the deep dead of morning was so disturbing, and his apparent nonchalance as he fumbled and fussed, bite-light in mouth, with the doorbell camera, first his puffy-looking gloves, and then, inexplicably, wiping it with a handful of some sort of weeds or flowers.
Completely bizarro.
And terrifying, knowing the 84-year-old was inside and would disappear less than an hour later, leaving a bloodtrail...and that's all.
Oh, absolutely, my heart goes out to her and her family, as well as my most fervent disappointment that they hadn't found her well days ago. It has to be agonizing.
And it's nice that there are incredible resources focused on finding this lady, resources most of us will never have access to, God forbid we would ever need them.
That's just the way it is.
When something of this evil ilk happens, there's often really no cavalry to the rescue, especially in a city or small rural area where the cops are too few, or too burdened with regular policing, maybe no special training, and not enough money to do it all.
God knows they do their best.
Throw in obstacles like language barriers and cultural enclaves, and it gets damn near impossible, but they still try and bust their asses doing so, no matter who it is that's missing.
That's what's happened here in our local area.
No fanfare nationally, no big names attached. But on the 31st of January, a little family was reported missing.
A family of three has been reported missing in Mobile County.
According to a news release from the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to the 9000 block of Ben Hamilton Road on Saturday, Jan. 31.
A mother, 40-year-old Aurelia Choc Cac, and her two children, 17-year-old Niurka Zule-Ta Choc and 2-year-old Anthony Garcia Choc, were last seen at their home on Friday, Jan. 30 at their home.
Officials say there were signs that a struggle had occurred in the family’s home.
There wasn't any information on how he was connected to the missing family, but a person of interest who had ties to Amarillo Texas was wanted for questioning.
Later, deputies amplified what they found when they got into the house, and it had everyone terribly concerned for the family's safety.
The Mobile County Sheriff said he would do everything in his department's power to find them.
...Sheriff Paul Burch said deputies discovered troubling evidence when they entered the home.
“Upon entry, [we] found that there was blood throughout the house. Missing mattress and some items of evidence that was left at the scene, if someone were traveling, you would normally take it with you,” said Burch.
Burch says there were no signs of forced entry, but clear evidence that there was a struggle inside the home.
“There’s no resource that’s being spared to try to locate them and hopefully locate them safely,” Burch said.
On Monday, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency helicopters searched the area from above while deputies worked alongside the FBI and Homeland Security. Family members gathered outside the home, pleading for answers. Lorraine, one of Aurelia Choc’s daughters, begged for help.
“Help us out, please, I beg you, I beg you, please help us help them,” said Lorraine.
Neighbors say the family’s sudden disappearance immediately raised red flags. Maurice Summons, the family’s next-door neighbor, said it was unlike Aurelia not to respond.
“She’s always here or at work, and when she wasn’t here, it was very out of the ordinary. She didn’t answer any texts. So everything was very out of the ordinary, and that’s what got things started,” said Simmons.
The local FBI office in Mobile joined the search efforts.
They were still missing almost a week later, and members of the church they'd recently joined gathered together for a prayer vigil.
Those Alabama hound dogs sure can hunt.
The effort to find a missing Mobile County family continues as the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation hunt down every lead.
...In Theodore, Sheriff Paul Burch confirms they executed a search warrant on a property on Apache Run Drive.
On the other side of I-10 in Tillman’s Corner, Burch said they were going door to door in Lloyd’s Mobile Home park off Old Pascagoula Road, asking people about the case.
“This is somewhat of a bizarre case, and I’ve not seen one like this since I’ve been in the sheriff’s office, where you have an entire family missing,” Burch said. “But you know each day is a different twist and turn, but again we’re working every single one of those and will continue to do so until we bring a resolution to this case.”
On Monday, the Sheriff and the special agent in charge of the FBI's Mobile field office announced a couple of arrests.
Which is an amazing piece of detective work, considering it turns out that they were dealing with the twisted and hidden world of illegal immigrants.
...Monday, deputies and FBI agents searched two locations in Mobile, a home on Apache Run Drive and a mobile home park off Old Pascagoula Road.
Around the same time, Baldwin County Sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents attempted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by another wanted person in Bay Minette. The driver led them on a chase that ended with the driver taken into custody and the passenger running into a nearby wooded area. He was eventually taken into custody as well.
Yesterday, Juan Argueta, who ran from officers, was arrested and is charged with three counts of first-degree kidnapping.
Burch said he would not “get into the details” of what led them to Argueta, but said several search warrants have been executed, including one that was taking place as he spoke. He said a black van that had been at the missing family’s residence was also seized and was being searched.
He said he hopes the arrests will lead to information about where Aurelia and her family are. “We’re hoping someone will tell us where they are,” he said. “Anytime you arrest someone, you’re in hopes they will tell you what occurred. Our main goal is to find them safely and bring them back home.”
He said they believe the family was alive when they were taken, but said nearly two weeks later, he doesn’t know.
“I’m hoping we’ll find them alive,” Burch said.
Burch also announced that another arrest was made.
“On Feb. 3, we arrested Silverio Garcia, who was the employer of Aurelia, the missing mother, and he is also in a relationship with one of the daughters, who is an adult,” Burch said.
Both men are illegals who came into the country through Biden's open border. One of them had a pistol in his possession.
🚨MUGSHOTS: Two Illegal Aliens charged with armed kidnapping of a mother and her two young children in Mobile Alabama⬇️ pic.twitter.com/TWSMF4IDH2
— Dapper Detective (@Dapper_Det) February 10, 2026
There is still no word on the fate of hard-working Aurelia and her two children.
Continúa la búsqueda de madre guatemalteca y sus dos hijos desaparecidos en Alabama. Aurelia Choc Cac, de 40 años, originaria de Guatemala. Sus hijos desaparecidos son Niurka Zuleta Choc, de 17 años, y Anthony García Choc, de 2 años. pic.twitter.com/jAfL0LDs5M
— Chikistrakiz (@chikistrakiz) February 6, 2026
The search continues for a Guatemalan mother and her two missing sons in Alabama. Aurelia Choc Cac, 40 years old, originally from Guatemala. Her missing children are Niurka Zuleta Choc, 17 years old, and Anthony García Choc, 2 years old.
Whatever her own status and that of her children, I wish this poor woman had a way of knowing that their lives were important to everyone here - to everyone.
That the Mobile Sheriff's Department and the FBI are doing everything humanly possible to find them.
That all of us who live in the four (or more) counties around Mobile have been impatiently waiting on updates, wanting to hear the good news that they've been found safe and unharmed.
Little lives matter, too.
I so want this to end well.
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