They disappeared once; don't let them disappear twice

Archer Troy, the Mexican independent agency, has created a new project in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the production company Oriental Films.

A campaign on the value of investigation files in the search for people who are victims of disappearance. With phrases such as “They disappeared once; don't let them disappear twice” or “We search for them because we love them,” this campaign highlights one of the biggest social problems in Mexico.

This campaign is the shout of an entire nation to never stop searching for our disappeared.

There are those who believe that investigation files are just paper and dust, pages with stories that time devours. But no. Each investigation file breathes when someone mentions its name or pronounces its number. It beats when a mother asks for their children. It trembles when a father knocks on a door. They are not just files. They are memories that resist oblivion, silence. And if there is someone searching, the investigation files will remain alive. Alive like hope. Alive like the truth that is still missing. More alive than ever.

Because an investigation file doesn´t just hold papers; it sustains the search for loved ones who aren´t willing to give up.

As of January 2026, there are more than 130,000 disappeared persons in Mexico. Behind each case is a family waiting for answers. In this context, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is launching a new campaign on disappearances and the investigation files related to them. This is a recognition and a message of awareness of the importance of these investigation files as the central focus of the search for the disappeared and the right of their families to know, as they record the search and investigation actions that must be undertaken by the authorities in an exhaustive manner.

The ICRC noted that, following the recent reform of the General Law on Disappearances, all reports of disappeared persons must be accompanied by the opening of an investigation file. The effective link between these investigation files and the search report files enables the concentration and analysis of case information, the generation of hypotheses about the person's disappearance, the development of investigation and search plans, and the monitoring of progress.

It also facilitates coordination between search commissions and government prosecutors so that the investigation and search processes reinforce each other, avoiding delays or fragmentation of actions. This close and ongoing collaboration is essential to locating the disappeared.

When a person disappears, their story comes to a halt, and their family faces a painful journey of uncertainty. The actions taken and documented by the authorities in these investigation files, together with the information provided by the families, are essential for reconstructing that story and paving the way for locating the person.

“As long as someone is searching, the investigation files will remain alive,” said María Elizondo, legal advisor to the ICRC for Mexico and Central America. She explained that: “An investigation file isn't an inert document or a pile of papers: it is a working tool that articulates information and allows research hypotheses to be formulated. An investigation file lives and breathes with every search action.”

This campaign is an invitation to reflect through the stories of Ximena, Mateo, and Jorge. It is a film about the importance of the information documented in an investigation file, which reconstructs the story of a disappeared person and guides the search.

This project also includes an “Information Guide: Investigation File for Searching for People,” a resource designed in collaboration with relatives of disappeared persons that provides those searching for a loved one with clear, accessible, and useful information to follow up on their loved one's investigation files. In a second phase, there will be a traveling exhibition in the country's major cities.

Diana Gutiérrez, a member of the collective “Buscándote con amor” (Searching for you with love) who is looking for her mother, Adulfa Pomposa Cerqueda, disappeared since September 13, 2016, in the State of Mexico, said: "The investigation file isn´t just an administrative formality, it is the heart of the search process. For families, it represents the possibility of demanding progress and actively participating in the investigation. An incomplete or poorly compiled file delays the search and violates our fundamental rights." On the contrary, she said, a well-compiled file allows for better coordination between institutions, avoids omissions and duplication, builds trust, and increases the chances of locating the disappeared person.

The ICRC recalled that the Mexican State must guarantee the right of families to know, and with this campaign, it calls on the competent authorities to do everything in their power to clarify the fate and whereabouts of missing persons, including promoting the compilation, monitoring, and proper analysis of investigation files, as this can make a difference in locating a person.

The campaign is a co-production of Archer Troy, Oriental Films, and the ICRC in Mexico