Ernst and Grassley reaffirm mission to find Iowan missing in Mexico

(WOI) – Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. Joni Ernst are reaffirming their mission to find an Iowan who was declared missing in Mexico last month. 

In a letter to Ken Salazar, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, the Iowa senators requested updates on the embassy’s efforts to find Chris Leguisano, a Des Moines woman who was reported missing on Aug. 10. 

Grassley and Ernst claim Leguisano was kidnapped for ransom, although the FBI has not confirmed this information with Local 5. 

“The United States cannot and will not tolerate the assault of its citizens while traveling abroad,” the senators wrote. “By all public accounts, Ms. Leguisano’s kidnap was an act of extortion. An attack of this nature on a United States citizen is an affront to the United States.” 

The letter notes Leguisano’s alleged kidnapping was the second high-profile assault of an American citizen in the Tamaulipas region of Mexico in the last two years. 

The senators ended the letter requesting a progress report on the investigation within the week. 

Local 5 reached out to the FBI last month for information on Leguisano’s disappearance, but the bureau was unable to provide any information. 

“While the FBI is unable to provide confirmation on the existence or nonexistence of a specific investigation, we relentlessly pursue all cases with the same vigor and commitment to protecting the American people, and this doesn’t change when they are endangered across the border,” the FBI said in August. 

Leguisano’s last known location was Reynosa, Tamaulipas, just south of the U.S.-Mexico border. 

“Kidnappers have specifically targeted passengers with connections to the United States, including U.S. citizens and residents,” the U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Mexico said of the region.