An American citizen living in the Guadalajara airport

If anyone goes to GDL you may want to check on Brenda. When I saw her last night she was sitting in the chairs in front of the taxi counter. I understand she is usually around there or the ladies room. She was so adamant about not wanting food or money I can't believe anyone would be feeding her. I just got her a meal and said "it's for later" she thanked me and that was that. I did not see her eat or drink any of it.

Pete...plz check on her today if you can.

I shall do so around noon "Joyfull" and make a report as soon as I have internet access perhaps, very late tonight.

You are all being very kind. I'll be at the airport in two weeks, but hopefully she will be home by then. This is really a job for the consulate. Americans (or whatever) are the responsibility of the consulate when they are outside their country and in trouble. We can provide band aid support, but this sad woman's family and country need to step in and get her home.

I'm sure she has been told what will happen to her if she starts "bothering people " by asking for money or anything else.
It's very good to know that she is wanted by her family in the U.S... She sounds like she could be a handful, that's for sure.

Several of us emailed the US Consulate. Where are they? And it does look like her Mexican relatives wanted her to go, possibly couldn't handle her?

@Joyfull, thank you going and talking to her.

Not sure the Consulate can do much in this situation unless a US citizen is detained or arrested, becomes physically ill or injured, is a victim of robbery, has gone missing, dies, or is in a country where a political crisis has endangered US citizens.
If none of these conditions apply and furthermore the citizen does not want any help the Consulate can provide, asking for intervention is probably barking at the wrong door.

Am thinking that she sure could use the following: shampoo, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, washcloth, small hand towel and possibly some snack food or fruit. I can put together some hotel size items in a bag and drop them at your house mañana Bob for your afternoon run to GDL.
Joni

Man, talk about a missed opportunity. Yesterday (I think yesterday) the US Ambassador to Mexico and officials from the Consulate in Guadalajara gave a presentation at LCS, and they included a question and answer session about local issues and concerns. That would have been a spectacularly opportune time to see if she's anywhere on their radar.

Instead, I'm sure the 100 attendees asked them inappropriate questions about being Residentes Permanentes in Mexico with foreign-plated vehicles, etc.

According to a post by Dale Palfrey on TOB, the US Consulate is aware of the situation but won't comment publicly on what, if anything, is being done due to the US Privacy Act.

Based on the photos and the description of behavior, I would hazard a guess that Ms. Castro has a functional developmental disability. Extreme willfulness/stubborness is not unusual. Likely only the parents or possibly siblings know how to work with her, so hopefully someone from the nuclear family can make the trip and help her restructure her take on things. (Airlines are not too keen about taking on board someone who clearly doesn't want to be on that plane.) It is very kind of folks to assemble supplies she might need and yet doing so may only prolong the point where resolution can occur. A hard lesson to learn in the world of human services.

If recollection hasn't failed me, I believe that in California the parents could obtain an emergency "temporary limited conservatorship" of the person to facilitate the resolution of Ms. Castro's return. This would give them authority to work with whomever on Ms. Castro's behalf. Ordinarily the proposed conservatee has to be personally present in the state, but there are circumstances where that requirement is waived. Would be worth a try. Wonder if the consulate would pass that info along to the parents (w/o impermissibly discussing "the case.")

From what Brenda told me her father only speaks Spanish and her mother is ill and will be having surgery shortly. I rather doubt they are in a position to do this.

I agree for several reasons that it is a long-shot. But, doesn't have to be parents. In most jurisdictions, temporary guardians or temporary conservators could be a sibling, a cousin, aunt, uncle, or -- with the nomination of the parents -- an interested person (friend of family, etc.) The problem is that in most jurisdictions NOB, if a person has not been found lacking sufficient capacity to manage her affairs by a court, the person is legally deemed to have that capacity regardless of the real facts in her situation. It is likely she is not already under a limited conservatorship, but then again if the Consulate cannot speak with the family in the US, how are they to know? And, they may not even think or know to question her legal status. Another route would be to determine if she is under supervision by the nearest Regional Center for Developmentally Disabled Persons which often is true (especially in more liberal states) w/o a limited conservatorship ever existing. It usually works to talk with someone at the local Regional Center and agree to talk in hypotheticals. If the hypothetical facts grab the worker's attention, it is often possible to move along into the real world situation. (I am just thinking of how I approached similar situations long, long ago, trying to materialize a solution out of seeming thin air!)

Try the ladies room  

Hey look! Her aunt finally came and got her...hooray for Brenda!



http://www.aztecanoticias.com.mx/notas/estados/166109/video-mujer-vive-24-dias-en-aeropuerto-de-guadalajara

From watching the video, it appears she has absolutely no mental impairment. It looks like a case of the do-gooders making far too many assumptions.

hwilliams wrote:From watching the video, it appears she has absolutely no mental impairment. It looks like a case of the do-gooders  making far too many assumptions.

Would a sane person spend 24 days in an airport wearing pajamas?

Could be she was back on meds when the interview took place. I agree with sir, who would spend that amount of time in an airport? She is fluent in Spanish, she could have asked someone to call her relatives in Guadalajara to come and take her back to Guadalajara if she had all her faculties. And why the pajamas for 24 days?

Maybe it is life imitating art (movies)?

sir wrote:

hwilliams wrote:From watching the video, it appears she has absolutely no mental impairment. It looks like a case of the do-gooders  making far too many assumptions.

Would a sane person spend 24 days in an airport wearing pajamas?

Are you capable of understanding her in the video? She is quite articulate and her physical appearance suggests she is clean and well groomed.

simpsca wrote:Could be she was back on meds when the interview took place. I agree with sir, who would spend that amount of time in an airport? She is fluent in Spanish, she could have asked someone to call her relatives in Guadalajara to come and take her back to Guadalajara if she had all her faculties. And why the pajamas for 24 days?

Those are questions only she can answer. Certainly not arm chair sociologists on web boards.

I spoke with her last Monday evening. She made sense, but I knew something was off. I believe she is probably developmentally disabled and she certainly was not clean and well groomed. I also has someone who is bilingual call her family here in Mexico. She told me she was just fine living at GDL. I am glad she is back with family