US-Mexican influencer abducted at gunpoint in viral video found ‘alive and well’ in Sinaloa state
The U.S.-Mexican influencer who disappeared Tuesday in Mexico’s northwestern Sinaloa state has been found alive and well, the Sinaloa Attorney General’s Office said Saturday.
In a post on social media, the prosecutor’s office thanked the public for helping find Nicole “La Nicholette” Pardo and confirmed that the dual US citizen had been safely located.
Earlier this week, a viral video circulated online showing Pardo being kidnapped at gunpoint in broad daylight.
The footage, allegedly recorded by cameras in his Tesla vehicle, a lilac-colored Cybertruck, shows several armed men violently forcing Pardo into a waiting car.
On Friday, the Sinaloa Attorney General’s Office issued a missing persons bulletin stating that Pardo was last seen on January 20 in the Isla Musala neighborhood of Sinaloa’s capital, Culiacán.
CNN geolocated footage of her abduction to the same neighborhood.
Mexican Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said Thursday that vehicles allegedly involved in Pardo’s disappearance were being tracked and that state authorities immediately reported the incident to the federal government.
According to her Instagram account, the young woman apparently splits her time between Culiacán and Phoenix, Arizona. Public records show he has an address in Phoenix.
On Friday, a US State Department spokesman said it was aware of reports of the situation and was actively monitoring the situation.
“The Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens, and the Department of State stands ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance to Americans in need abroad,” the spokesperson said.
Pardo is a 20-year-old dual U.S.-Mexican citizen, according to the Sinaloa Attorney General’s Office. She is a prominent voice online, with more than 180,000 followers on Instagram and 145,000 followers on TikTok. He also has a YouTube channel and OnlyFans account.
His posts often show aspects of his personal life, including his purchase of luxury vehicles and his participation in local events such as the Saladazo, a motorized route through rural roads and natural areas south of Culiacán.
He is also referenced in the 2022 corrido song “La Muchacha del Salado”, recorded by Grupo Arriesgado, which has reached over 27 million views on YouTube.
Pardo’s disappearance comes at a time when violence against women is on the rise in Sinaloa and across Mexico. According to the official figures of the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the state closed the year 2025 with 72 femicides; This is the highest figure in the last seven years and more than double the 31 cases recorded in 2024.
More broadly, according to national records, 7,000 of the 132,000 casualties reported across Mexico since the first cases were recorded in 1952 were in Sinaloa.
This story was updated Saturday to include the latest information.
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