MEXICO CITY, Mexico, December 15. ACCORDING to a report by The Washington Post, the remains of Silvia Vargas Escalera, the 18-year-old daughter of Mexico's leading swimming advocate and entrepreneur Nelson Vargas, were identified after being kidnapped 15 months ago on Sept. 10, 2007.
The entire swimming community sends its heartfelt condolences to the Vargas family, which suffered through an unimaginable nightmare in the search for their daughter. Vargas is a former cabinet secretary and former top sports official for Mexico.
The family, which had exhausted every avenue to find their daughter after her kidnapping, issued a statement after the remains were identified: "We know that Silvia is with God. We ask everyone to pray for her and all those people who have suffered the same pain that we have felt since Sept. 10, 2007."
According to William Booth of the Washington Post Foreign Service, "the family spoke at emotional news conferences, offered rewards and begged the kidnappers for her return. They put up huge billboards with her photograph. They also performed their own investigation, while accusing the police of bungling the case."
Full text of The Washington Post article.