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March 26, 2026 / 4:36 PM PDT / CBS LA
A Santa Ana mother is missing after what was supposed to be a quick trip across the border to Tijuana.
It's been 11 days since 21-year-old Yasmin Gonzalez Benitez got into a car with relatives and headed across the border to visit her brother, according to the Santa Ana Police Department. She wasn't supposed to be gone longer than a day.
"Unfortunately, our detectives made numerous attempts to contact Yasmin's brother and mother, and they're being very uncooperative," Officer Natalie Garcia said.
Officers said Gonzalez Benitez's roommate, who was taking care of her 4-year-old daughter while she was gone, tried to contact her but never heard back.
Yasmin Gonzalez Benitez was reported missing after going on a family trip to Tijuana. Santa Ana PD
"The roommate tries to contact Yasmin, but there was no answer," Garcia said. "Yasmin left behind a 4-year-old daughter in the care of the roommate, who has now been turned over to child protective services."
Detectives have not been able to confirm if Gonzalez Benitez, who was born in the United States, has a brother in Tijuana. One of her roommates told CBS LA that he'd heard that Gonzalez Benitez's mother and brother took her to a Mexican facility, a claim police are trying to verify.
Garcia said it is unusual for the young mother to leave her daughter for so long.
"She would take her to preschool," Garcia said. "She would come home. She would work, but she always had someone in the care of her daughter. She never left for more than a couple of days with the daughter, so this is very suspicious to us."
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