NM NM - Joel "Deano" Valdez, 36, traveling from a job in Silver City to his home in Coyote, white Chev truck, got gas in Santa Fe, 18 Sep 2025

[LawletDNE23]

Thank you for the additional information

 

[LawletDNE23]

Also I wonder if where on the high way it could be also do you know the name of the high way

 

[Lebowski]

Very quiet case since the original reporting.

Family searches Santa Fe for answers in case of missing Marine veteran

New Mexico native Joel “Deano” Valdez was last seen leaving his Silver City job site on September 18, headed towards his residence in Coyote. His vehicle has not been found.

www.nbcnews.com

He uses an ATM, then buys gas, then goes dark. Somebody uses his debit card several times before his family cancels it, and his truck is caught on highway plate readers but has yet to be found.

if the plate reader captures are more than a couple hours after that last gas station visit, that would pretty well rule out the possibility that he had an accident and is lying undiscovered somewhere. not that there are a lot of bodies of water or foliage to conceal him along his route.

seems like the police are being careful because they have to allow for the possibility of voluntary disappearance. still a possibility, though sadly not where i'd put my money.

 

[LawletDNE23]

They do need to consider that as well just in case he had a motive for disappearing

 

[LawletDNE23]

It would rule out the possibility of an accident

 

[craigston]

Mr. Valdez may have powered through Santa Fe with no additional stops, after all he had his cash and had topped off the diesel in his pick up tank. There was no reason for any additional stops in Santa Fe, however, in Espanola, he had friends, and perhaps an on the go meal as evidenced by the family comments. The search and find efforts should focus upon this location. I'm also thinking that the New Mexico Law Enforcement Agencies know much more than they are willing to share at this time. Even upstanding good guys, like Joel, devoted to God, Family and Country, can get innocently caught up in bad business. This loss is so compelling and tragic, heartfelt prayers for the family.

 

[LawletDNE23]

They should look there in that location and access some of the cameras there to see what happened or ask any of the residents in the area they should also look at the cameras in some other areas as well to check where his car went as well. There is where one of the websleuths said something about the car being somewhere around the high way but it wasn't found

 

[Unalienable Rights]

Two months later, family still searching for missing Coyote man

When Joel "Deano" Valdez said he was going to do something, he would always do it, according to his family.

www.abqjournal.com

November 17, 2025

*****
Two months later, still no one has heard from Valdez, but his family hasn't stopped searching for him. State police told the Journal on Monday that the case remains under investigation.

This month, the family raised $2,000 for information leading to Valdez's whereabouts. Monique Garcia, another cousin, said the national nonprofit Angels' Voices Silenced No More contributed another $5,000, raising the reward to $7,000. They've also posted regular updates to a Facebook page they've dedicated to the case.

The family continues to organize searches for Valdez every weekend.

*****
See the article for more.

 

[craigston]

The latest article in the ABQ Post indicates the this missing person's case has not been categorized as a criminal investigation yet by the NM State Authorities. If it can be flipped into that category then more resources can be dedicated to this case. Can someone tell me why this has not happened yet, just based upon the unauthorized use of his credit card, there appears to be amble reason. Need to hear from someone who knows about police criminal investigation protocols.

 

[LawletDNE23]

I think it is because they haven't found more details to say that it is a criminal case yet. If they found evidence to say that this is a criminal case then it would have been one but as of now this is still a missing individual case

 

[Cryptic]

Ah good shout- There is an ICE office in Albuquerque that seems to cover Santa Fe…

ICE as in a cooler, or ICE as in immigration enforcement, or...ICE as in infamously lip synched "Ice, Ice baby" song lyrics? I doubt ICE as in Immigration Enforcement is a factor here.

The missing man is a New Mexico Hispanic from a rural area in the northern part of the state. There is a very good chance that Joel is a Hispano. Hispanos are Hispanic subgroup who have resided in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado since before there was an independent "Mexico" and an independent "United States".

Even if Joel is not a Hispano per se (group membership has never been clearly defined), he is very likely multi generational American- and likely still multi century (just not four centuries as is the case with Hispanos).

In the end, New Mexico, and northern New Mexico in particular, are loaded down with Hispanics who are not immigrants, nor are they descended from immigrants in the every day sense of the word. As a side note, experienced ICE / Border Patrol agents could pick up on the lilting accent that many rural "long term" Hispanics in the area have.