Missing Belen Resident Found Safe After Community Search Effort

The person recovered safe Thursday in Belen carried a detail that stopped searchers mid-sentence: the missing resident's name is Belen, the same as the southern Valencia County city where the search concluded. Deputy Skaggs of the Valencia County Sheriff's Office publicly acknowledged every community member who joined the effort, with video confirmation of the safe recovery included in the official update.

Behind the search was Valencia County Missing Children and Persons, a Belen-based 501(c) nonprofit that works directly alongside law enforcement and federal agencies when residents go missing. The organization, whose primary contact is Shonda, posts missing persons to social media and its website, distributes flyers, and helps coordinate ground searches. Its Facebook following of nearly 2,000 residents has made it a first-alert network for families across the county, one of the few dedicated missing persons resources operating locally.

Thursday's resolution landed differently against the weight of recent outcomes in the area. In September 2023, 53-year-old Jack Williams went missing and was later found deceased, discovered by motocross riders south of his home. That same year, the VCSO issued Missing Endangered Advisories for Antonio Armijo III, 13, in August, and for Jorge Leon, 44, of Belen, in July. For the family at the center of this week's search, the news was the kind every one of those cases was hoping for.

For families navigating a missing persons emergency in Valencia County, the first call goes to the Belen Police Department at (505) 864-6321 or Valencia Regional Emergency Communications Center dispatch at (505) 866-2040. Under New Mexico law, a report can be filed the moment someone's whereabouts are unknown and they are believed to be in danger, with no waiting period required regardless of age.

From there, the NM Department of Public Safety's Missing Persons Clearinghouse coordinates statewide Amber Alerts and Silver Alerts and can enter cases into the National Crime Information Center to extend the search nationally. Valencia County Missing Children and Persons at 310 Rosedale Circle in Belen, reachable at (505) 357-5215, can mobilize community outreach alongside law enforcement. When reporting a missing person, have a recent photo and physical description ready. Anonymous tips in any active case go to Crime Stoppers at (505) 843-7867.