New Mexico

Only one person still ‘unaccounted for’ following destructive Ruidoso wildfires • Source New Mexico

Published

2 years ago

June 26, 2024

Only one person still ‘unaccounted for’ following destructive Ruidoso wildfires • Source New Mexico

As Jesus Cadena sat on his front porch in Ruidoso, smoking cigarettes and watching the helicopters and airplanes drop water over the South Fork Fire, he had no way of knowing that according to New Mexico State Police he was officially unaccounted for in a disaster.

Cadena and his family are one of thousands who reunited during the hours after the South Fork and Salt fires tore through neighborhoods and forest in southeastern New Mexico. A list of unaccounted people that has grown and shrunk since the fires ignited on June 17 now sits at one, officials with the Village of Ruidoso said on Wednesday.

Two people died in the fire.

Yesterday, officials reported that a list of 89 people it was aware of were “unaccounted for” were a priority to contact after the fires and floods.

Michael Scales, a Lincoln County emergency management specialist, told Source New Mexico that all people unaccounted for on the list given to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department were located by midday Wednesday.

Ruidoso police are still looking for the final person on the list.

Cadena’s reunite after evacuation orders separated family

Thousands of Ruidoso-area residents had to evacuate their homes and businesses last week, fleeing from the treacherous South Fork and Salt fires which continue to smolder.

But for some people, heartbreak was the first emotion they experienced as loved ones chose to stay behind.

Cyndi Cadena was one evacuee who had to leave an elderly parent behind in Ruidoso.

“I talked to my mom and dad and my mom tried to persuade my dad and he still didn’t want to leave,” she said.

Cadena takes care of her octogenarian parents in their Ruidoso home near the Walmart Supercenter. Isabel and Jesus Cadena built the cabin in the late 1970s and have lived in the Sacramento Mountain community since.

When the fire started last Monday, Cyndi Cadena said she talked with her brother who works for Mescalero Apache Telecom. As he saw the fires worsen, he told his family they needed to get out of the area.

An air tanker drops fire retardant called slurry over and around areas in the Village of Ruidoso, N.M., on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. (Photo by Chancey Bush / Albuquerque Journal) PHOTO CANNOT BE REPUBLISHED

Cyndi Cadena said the family was initially told to go to the senior center in Ruidoso Downs, but then they were directed farther away to Roswell.

“We were finding out that Roswell was getting full and there’s no place to stay,” she said.

Members of the family were able to eventually find space in Roswell, but Cyndi and her parents stayed, trying to help other elderly community members navigate the chaos at the senior center.

“I was trying to help, you know, because everyone needed help,” Cyndi said.

The three Cadenas remained in the area into the early Tuesday morning hours.

Jesus Cadena did not want to leave. Several hours later he was running low on oxygen.

Cyndi Cadena said as the smoke settled in the sky, the chaos seemed to calm a bit, so she took her parents back to their home and got her father hooked up to his home ventilator. This gave her a chance to grab several more things from the house, let her parents rest and feed them.

Around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, she said she was ready to take them all down the mountain through Hondo, to Roswell and eventually safety. After trying to persuade her father again, she closed the windows, sealed up the house and left with her mother.

Jesus Cadena sits on his porch in Ruidoso as the South Fork and Salt fires burn around him in June 2024 (Photo provided by Cyndi Cadena).

“I said ‘let’s go mom, we gotta go’ and I hugged my dad and I just went out the door and prayed,” she said through tears.

Her brother-in-law stayed behind to take care of the older Cadena and look in on other elderly residents who did not want to leave Ruidoso.

The Cadena women traveled over and around northern Ruidoso and made their way to Alamogordo where they stayed with family until Thursday. Because internet and cellular service was down back home, they had no way of communicating with the family that stayed.

She called hotlines dedicated to reuniting people during the fire, asking if anyone knew if her father was still in Ruidoso. Her calls placed Jesus Cadena on a list of officially unaccounted for people that emergency responders tracked during fires and floods.

Cyndi Cadena also called New Mexico State Police for a welfare check, which revealed that her father and brother-in-law were still at the family house.

The family’s concerns were calmed last Thursday during a Facetime call with Jesus Cardena.

Isabel Cadena (left) and her daughter, Cyndi Cadena, pose for a portrait in front of their temporary home in Bent, New Mexico after evacuating from Ruidoso wildfires in June 2024 (Photo by Leah Romero / Source NM).

“My mom got to see him so they were sentimental and everything,” Cyndi Cadena said about her parents talking through the phone.

She said it gave her mother some comfort to be able to at least see her husband, who still refused to leave Ruidoso because he wanted to wait for the rain that followed.

The family remained separated until Sunday evening, June 23 when evacuation orders were lifted and residents were able to return to their homes and assess the damage.

Cadena told Source New Mexico via text message that they were able to go to Ruidoso Downs where they all reunited.

The family home was untouched, but many other community members were not so lucky.

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New Mexico

Phoebe Bridgers Debuts New Music at First Show in Three Years

Published

11 hours ago

May 9, 2026

Press Room

Phoebe Bridgers Debuts New Music at First Show in Three Years

Phoebe Bridgers played her first solo show in three years on Friday night at The Liberty in Roswell, New Mexico. And if reports are to be believed, the singer’s next album/creative era could truly be out of this world.

The intimate, 13-song set at the 400-capacity venue served as Bridgers’ first solo performance since May 2023 when she opened for Taylor Swift at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. According to posts from several attendees, Bridgers described the evening (which strictly forbid all recording devices) as a “test” for her third album (and follow-up to 2020’s excellent Punisher).

In addition to hits like “Motion Sickness” and “Kyoto,” Bridgers debuted three to four new songs. One attendee described the new music, which included one track tentatively-titled “This is Gonna Kill Me,” as “very sad folk.” Harmonica arrangements were also featured prominently across the new music, provided by Christian Lee Hutson, who served as part of Bridgers’ band.

New Mexico

New Mexico DOJ data: Shell-casing tracking links shootings in Doña Ana County

Published

24 hours ago

May 9, 2026

Press Room

LAS CRUCES, N.M (KFOX14/CBS4) — A gun-tracking program that uses shell casings to connect shootings is already helping investigators link crimes in Doña Ana County, according to new numbers released by the New Mexico Department of Justice.

The effort is part of New Mexico’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center, which uses ballistic evidence such as shell casings to track guns believed to be used in multiple crimes. The program relies on the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, or NIBIN, a national database that compares ballistic evidence to determine whether shell casings may have come from the same weapon.

In April, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez described how the technology can connect cases across jurisdictions.

“There may be a shooting that occurs in Deming that’s actually connected to a crime gun that’s recovered in Las Cruces. We may find shell casings in Silver City that are connected to something that happened in T or C,” Torrez said.

Four months into the program, the Department of Justice said 210 bullet casings have been analyzed in Doña Ana County. Those casings helped link 32 incidents to 13 guns.

Jordan Salas reports on New Mexico DOJ data: Shell-casing tracking links shootings in Doña Ana County (Credit: KFOX14)

Statewide, more than 700 casings have been entered into the system, connecting 74 shootings to 31 guns.

One person reacting to the numbers said, “That’s crazy. Honestly, all those shootings all coming from that little amount of weapons is crazy.”

New Mexico officials say the system is designed to help law enforcement share information faster and build cases more efficiently.

Also in April, Doña Ana County Sheriff Kim Stewart pointed to a local case she said the technology helped resolve quickly.

“We resolved a homicide with a suspect arrest in four days. We know that those casings may lead to another 1 or 2 incidents in another city,” Stewart said.

Some residents said the technology alone will not solve gun violence, but they see it as a step forward. One person said, “I mean, growing up, like hearing gunshots in the distance. That wasn’t something crazy. I have stories of, like, friends who’ve gone to parties that had guns go off there. So, yeah, I would say guns are a problem there.”

Another person said, “I would think that it’s a good thing. I’m personally like, just anything to help the gun crimes, you know?”

KFOX14/CBS4 contacted Las Cruces police and the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office to ask how the leads are being used in local investigations, but we are awaiting a response.

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New Mexico

New Mexico AG seeks $3.7B from Meta over alleged ‘public nuisance’ claims

Published

1 day ago

May 8, 2026

Press Room

New Mexico AG seeks .7B from Meta over alleged ‘public nuisance’ claims

(Photo Credit: FotoField/Shutterstock)

Who: New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez brought a lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc.
Why: The state claims Meta misrepresented harms to minors and created a public nuisance through its social media platforms.
Where: The lawsuit is pending in New Mexico state court.
How to get help: Has social media impacted the mental health of you or your child? You may qualify to join a social media lawsuit against the platform.

New Mexico’s attorney general is asking a state court to order Meta to pay approximately $3.7 billion to address what the state describes as a “public nuisance” caused by the company’s social media platforms.

The request comes after a jury previously found Meta misrepresented the risks its platforms — including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — pose to underage users. The jury also imposed a $375 million penalty in the first phase of the trial.

The case has now moved into a second phase, where the court will determine what additional remedies, if any, Meta must provide.

According to the state, the proposed $3.712 billion abatement plan would fund a 15-year effort to address the alleged harms caused by Meta’s platforms. The plan includes funding for public education, school resources, law enforcement support and mental health services for children affected by issues, such as online bullying and sexual exploitation.

“This request recognizes the scope of the public nuisance that Meta has caused,” counsel for the state argued in court.

The lawsuit alleges Meta concealed or downplayed the extent of harmful activity on its platforms while publicly portraying them as safe for younger users.

Meta disputes liability, challenges proposed abatement plan

Meta denies the allegations and argues there is no legal basis for the sweeping relief requested by the state.

Attorneys for the company contend the proposed abatement plan does not directly address or stop the alleged harmful conduct and instead seeks compensation for downstream effects.

“What no court has ever allowed … is payment for the downstream effects,” Meta’s counsel argued, describing the request as “damages masquerading as something else.”

The court is expected to hear additional testimony during the second phase of the trial before determining whether to approve any form of injunctive relief or financial remedies.

In March, a California jury found Meta and Google liable for mental health harms suffered by plaintiff Kaley G.M., who became addicted to Instagram and YouTube as a child, awarding $6 million in damages, including $3 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages.

What do you think about the claims against Meta in this case? Let us know in the comments.

The state is represented by Raul Torrez of the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General and Donald Migliori, Linda Singer, Michael Pendell and David Ackerman of Motley Rice LLC.

The Meta lawsuit is New Mexico v. Meta Platforms Inc., et al., Case No. D-101-CV-2023-02838, in the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico.

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