Mexico’s National Search Commission for Missing Persons (CNB) has introduced Molly — its first canine member — to help locate missing people in a country where disappearances remain a major national crisis.
Molly and her handler form a K9 team the commission said is trained to search on land as well as in and around bodies of water, according to a Monday press release written in the dog’s voice.
“Starting today, I’m a member of the K9 unit of the CNB, and I have a very important mission: to search for people,” Molly “said” in the release. She said she will contribute her “sense of smell” and other talents.
The CNB, a federal body within the Interior Ministry (Segob), coordinates and carries out searches for disappeared and missing people, working with search agencies in Mexico’s 32 federal entities.
The commission said Molly will work alongside personnel who plan operations, coordinate logistics and analyze information. It did not provide details on her breed, training history or deployment schedule.
“Every search is the result of many hours of preparation and dedication,” said Molly, who appears to be a Belgian Malinois, a high-energy Belgian Shepherd variety.
Her arrival could offer the commission an important ally.
In Guanajuato, a search-collective leader recently said canine teams have helped confirm about eight of every 10 positive findings in the search for clandestine graves.
Norma Patricia Barrón Núñez, who leads the Una Luz en Mi Camino (A Light on My Path) search collective in Irapuato, Guanajuato, told the newspaper Milenio that when dogs find a possible site, they scratch the ground, prompting authorities to investigate further.
The Guanajuato Attorney General’s Office has 17 dogs, including nine trained in forensic search and detection. The state’s Security and Peace Ministry has two dogs assigned to search for people, while the National Guard has five assigned to search-and-rescue operations, Milenio reported.
Dogs have long held public-facing roles in Mexican security agencies.
Famed Navy search-and-rescue dog Frida assisted in searches after earthquakes and explosions from 2010 until her 2019 retirement. The late yellow Labrador became an international symbol of Mexico’s response to the devastating September 2017 earthquake in central Mexico.
More recently, Comando, a small mixed-breed dog adopted by National Guard personnel in Chihuahua, has become a familiar presence at the force’s state headquarters. And in San Luis Potosí, a former stray named Coyotito accompanies Civil Guard officers on patrol.
As for Molly, the CNB said it would later release more information about her training and fieldwork. She will wear a tactical harness with a K9 badge and a Mexican flag patch.
The CNB listed 132,534 people as disappeared or unaccounted for nationwide as of March 2026, federal authorities said.
With reports from El Financiero, Milenio and Reforma
