Missing in Mexico: A Canadian man and his American friend kidnapped in Puerto Vallarta

The family of a Canadian man who vanished along with his American friend in Mexico earlier this month, believe the two men have been kidnapped.

Diego Hernandez, 22, and Craig Silva, 31, were last seen on May 8 in the Pacific resort city of Puerto Vallarta where both men worked – Hernandez as a martial arts instructor and Silva as a customer service representative at a resort.

The National Post spoke to Hernandez’s aunt, Amanda Morales, who said her nephew had held a mixed martial arts event in the city on May 5. 

Before the event, two men had approached him wanting “a piece of the action.” Hernandez turned them down, but the encounter left him shaken.

“It did scare them, but it’s just so common down there,” Morales said.

Three days after the event, Hernandez and Silva disappeared.

The Canadian Press said the men were last seen in Silva’s black 2003 Chevy Trailblazer, which has since been recovered by police.

According to Morales, Hernandez’s ex-girlfriend in Puerto Vallarta received a ransom phone call a day after the pair disappeared, but neither she nor the families had been contacted since.

The families have set up a Facebook page dedicated to finding the two men. 

"The police in Mexico and the Embassy are taking this seriously and working on getting records but at this time it appears to be a random kidnapping," the moderator of the page wrote on May 12.