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Alabama Family Still Missing as Sheriff Gives Details on Kidnapping Suspect
An Alabama mother, her teenage daughter and toddler son are still missing after authorities shared a man has been charged with their kidnapping.
During a news conference on Tuesday, February 24, Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said the suspect, Hector Gamaliel Argueta-Guerra, previously gave a fake name when he was arrested on three counts of kidnapping after Aurelia Choc Cac and her children, Niurika Zuleta Choc and Anthony Garcia Choc went missing in late January, FOX10 News reported.
“He’s clearly a much more dangerous individual than what we originally thought,” Burch said of Argueta-Guerra at the conference.
Aurelia, 40, Niurka, 17, and Anthony, 2, were last seen at their home in Theodore around 3:00 p.m. on January 30, the sheriff’s office previously said in a January 31 news release.
“We do believe the mother, daughter and son were taken against their will and we believe they could be in danger,” the sheriff’s office said at the time.
The FBI is offering a $15,000 reward for any information that leads investigators to the Choc family, the agency said on January 30.
Following Argueta-Guerra’s arrest, he pleaded not guilty in court on February 13 to the kidnapping charges stemming from the family’s disappearance, WKRG reported. The court appointed him a public defender.
Further information on Argueta-Guerra’s public defender was not immediately available.
A man accused of attacking his girlfriend with a shovel and a knife, killing her before fatally stabbing her 4-year-old daughter, has been sentenced to death in Florida, according to court records viewed by Us Weekly. In October 2025, a Hillsborough County jury found Angel Gabriel Cuz Choc guilty of first-degree murder in connection with […]
At the February 24 news conference, where U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials were present, law enforcement said that Argueta-Guerra, 27, is from El Salvador and is an alleged member of Los Surenos, a transnational gang linked to the country, according to WKRG.
He is accused of having a violent criminal history in El Salvador, where he was allegedly involved in an attempted homicide and took part in alleged terrorist activity linked to organized crime, officials said, the TV station reported.
The same year he was suspected of homicide in El Salvador in 2015, he was apprehended in Texas after he was accused of coming to the U.S. illegally, according to officials, FOX10 reported. He was said to have been released from custody about “one month later.”
PJ Lavoie, who is with the Department of Homeland Security, said at the conference that a temporary protected status order had prevented Argueta-Guerra from being removed from the U.S., according to FOX10.
Other people, whose names have not been released, are considered persons of interest in connection with the Choc family’s disappearance, Burch said, the TV station reported.
A girl reported missing from Texas by her mother more than four years ago was found safe in Mexico after her father was accused of kidnapping her to the country, Us Weekly has learned. The 12-year-old was “safely recovered” in Mexico by U.S. Marshals Service officers on January 20 and has since been reunited with […]
Argueta-Guerra knew Aurelia, Burch said, according to AL.com.
“Everyone involved is involved in the painting industry in some way, shape or form,” Burch said, the outlet reported. “They all knew one another through that occupation, and pretty much all were here illegally.”
After the family went missing, the sheriff’s office said that investigators found “signs of a struggle” at their home.
A potential motive for the alleged kidnapping has not been specified by law enforcement.
The FBI encourages anyone who might have information on the family’s disappearance to call the agency at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit an online tip.