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Missing Naum Rafael Mendez 
Mendez, approximately 2008; Juan Carlos Atenco Camacho Date reported missing : 02/01/2008 Missing location (approx) : Boca Raton, Florida Missing classification : Endangered Missing Gender : Male Ethnicity : Hispanic DOB : 07/15/1974 (47) Age at the time of disappearance: 33 years old Height / Weight : 5'7, 158 pounds Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A red dress, earrings and a blond wig. Carrying a silver purse. Mendez often dresses as a woman. Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos : Hispanic male. Brown hair, brown eyes. Mendez had blond highlights in his hair at the time of his disappearance. He has a tattoo of a flower on the right side of his chest. Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Mendez left Matteo's Restaurant in the 200 block of south Federal Highway in Boca Raton, Florida at 10:30 p.m. on February 1, 2008. He had worked at the restaurant as a waiter for about four years. He also worked part-time as a dancer at the Tenampa club in Lake Worth, Florida, where he used the stAge at the time of disappearance: name Gaviota. Mendez went home to his apartment in the 1700 block of northwest 15th Vista and changed clothes. He spoke to a relative on the phone about an hour after he was last seen. He has not been heard from since. Mendez is described as an ideal employee who always called if he had to be absent from work, and it's uncharacteristic of Mendez to leave without warning. He moved to the United States from Oaxaca, Mexico in 1996. His younger brother also lives in the U.S., but the rest of his family, including his mother, wife and two children, live in Mexico. He left his car and other belongings behind, and from the onset of the investigation authorities thought foul play was possible in his case. In July 2010, Juan Carlos Atenco Camacho was charged with Mendez's murder. A photo of him is posted with this case summary. He was the last person known to have seen him, and cellular phone records indicated his story about when he last saw Mendez was untrue. Atenco Camacho is married. He had one young son by his wife and his teenAge at the time of disappearance: girlfriend was pregnant with his child in February 2008. He had also had Gender : with Mendez, although he says he isn't gay. Atenco Camacho stated the two men were in a car in the parking lot of Mendez's apartment complex when Mendez told him he loved him and asked him to leave his wife. Atenco Camacho refused and asked Mendez to leave the car, but Mendez wouldn't go and they got into an argument. Atenco Camacho says he drove Mendez to his own former residence in Palm Springs, Florida and stabbed him to death with a fishing knife during a struggle. Atenco Camacho led authorities to a canal near PGA Boulevard and the Bee Line Highway where he says he dumped the body. Investigators searched the site, but didn't find any evidence. In October 2012, Atenco Camacho pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. The original charge of second-degree murder carries a thirty-year sentence. Mendez's body has never been found, but foul play is suspected in his disappearance due to the circumstances involved. Other information and links : ncy Boca Raton Police Department 561-416-3350 September 2021 updates and sources Florida Department of Law Enforcement MSNBC WPTV NewsChannel 5 WPBF-TV 25 A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe. By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends. Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel The Broward/Palm Beach News-Times |