Mexican Town’s Last Cop Disappears

The last remaining member of the police force of a small Mexican border town has gone missing. Ericka Gandara, 28, had stayed on duty in the town of Guadalupe, population 9,000, despite desertions and resignations that had left her the last of a police force that once numbered eight. The Sinaloa and Juarez cartels have been battling for control of the Juarez valley, forcing many residents to flee over the border to Texas or elsewhere in Mexico. The same day that Gandara disappeared, the home of a Guadalupe town councilwoman was set on fire.