Interpol has issued a yellow notice for Jesse Bruzzese, 35, a Perth man missing in Mexico since June 3, as his family makes a desperate appeal for information to confirm his safety. The notice is a global alert for victims of parental abductions, kidnappings, or unexplained disappearances.
Last Known Location and Contact
Bruzzese had been traveling solo for months before last checking in with loved ones on June 3. His last known location was Riviera Maya, south of Cancun in southeast Mexico. The four-week stretch without any contact has left those close to him extremely worried. Family also say his phone appears to be switched off, which is out of character.
“He has been travelling overseas and we have been unable to confirm where he is or whether he is ok,” family said in a statement. “We are asking that if you have had any recent contact with him ... or have any information that may help confirm that he is safe and well, please reach out to our family privately or contact police. Jesse, if you happen to see this, please know that we love you so much and we are worried about you.”
Police and Government Response
His disappearance was reported to WA authorities before the investigation was elevated beyond the border. WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said on Wednesday, “Our job is to make sure that that system works and the family feel and know that someone is looking for their loved one.” Blanch noted he does not have inside knowledge of the ongoing search. “As we know in Mexico, it’s a very challenging terrain, and whether or not they have the capacity to do the extent of a search we might be able to do here [in WA], I don’t know,” he said.
WA Premier Roger Cook described it as a “very distressing situation” for loved ones. “My understanding is that (the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) and the consular corps are working with the family to provide them with assistance. It must be a very scary time for them and so our thoughts are with them all.”
Interpol Yellow Notice Details
DFAT is understood to be in contact with Mexican authorities and Interpol on the search. The Interpol notice describes Bruzzese as an Australian and Italian national with distinguishable tattoos including a woman’s face on his left arm and an eagle on his left shoulder. He is 176cm tall with brown hair and brown eyes. The Australian was likely to have visited Mexico, the US, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Indonesia, according to the notice which gives international visibility to cases.
Context of Previous Missing Australians in Mexico
The search comes two years after Perth brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their friend Carter Rhoad went missing while on a surfing trip in Mexico. The trio had been camping when they were shot dead during a botched robbery and their bodies dumped in a well. In 2022, Queensland woman Tahnee Shanks went missing and her two-year-old daughter was found wandering alone outside a chapel in the resort city of Cancun. WA surfers Adam Coleman and Dean Lucas were murdered in Mexico’s volatile Sinaloa region, before their van and bodies were burnt, in 2015.
