Mother of American missing in Mexico makes emotional plea
Harry Devert was last heard from on January 25
Mexican authorities made a grisly find that may solve the mysterious disappearance of an American who vanished while on a lengthy motorcycle adventure last January.
ABC News reported late Saturday that the family of Harry Devert was confirming the discovery of his motorcycle and human remains nearby.
The motorcycle was found near a road in a remote area in Mexico. The remains were found in partially buried plastic bags.
Devert, of Pelham, N.Y., disappeared after saying he was headed to the Pacific resort city of Zihuatanejo. He was last heard from on Jan. 25 in a text message to his girlfriend. He had planned to end his trip at the World Cup in Brazil.
His mother, Ann Devert, went to Mexico to help authorities confirm the body’s identity through DNA testing, her attorney told ABC. Devert was 32 when he disappeared.
“She’s remaining optimistic and… she’s doing the best she possibly could do in this trying time,” attorney Darren Del Sardo said. “There’s still many questions unanswered. She’s trying to act on a serious lead, wherein (his) motorcycle was found, or to get some sort of closure if, in fact, the remains are Harry’s.”
In the text to his girlfriend Sarah Schiear, Devert said he had been in Zitacuraro, where he spent time with a friend.
“Just got an hour and a half long escort out of some area it was too dangerous for me to be,” he told Schiear.
“Gonna get back on the road soon. Apparently there’s another military escort waiting for me in some other town…I’m running way late because of the crazy military stuff,” his text said.
He was crossing a dangerous area where local “self-defense” groups battled violent drug traffickers.
In March, Devert’s family feared he had become a drug cartel victim.
A friend told the Westchester Journal News that a group called Pueblos Libres hung banners throughout the coastal town of La Union claiming a cartel leader known as “El Tigre,” Adrian Reyes Cardenas, was responsible for the death of an American as well as the disappearance of a globetrotter, apparently Devert.
In February, Ann Devert said she was holding out hope her son was alive. She said he called the world his home.
“I believe my son is still alive,” she said then. “I think the second escort is our key and it is possible that this was not a military escort and someone who was disguised as an escort,” she said.
ABC said friends were remembering Devert in postings on a Facebook page dedicated to spreading the news about his disappearance.
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