Makala Pendley, 30, was reported missing from Indianapolis on Feb. 23 while traveling in Mexico with her seven children. Her family says a body found near Zinacantán, Chiapas, was confirmed as hers on June 9. The children have been found safe, after Mexican au
For weeks, Indianapolis held its breath as Makala Pendley vanished in Mexico with her seven children. On June 9, the waiting turned to grief.
Pendley, 30, has been found dead, her family said, while her children were found safe.
Pendley and her children were reported missing from Indianapolis on Feb. 23. The case was listed through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Her sister. Maurica Lambert. said her family had been working with Mexican law enforcement to identify a body found near a village of Zinacantán. Chiapas. in southern Mexico. Lambert said the body was confirmed as Pendley’s on June 9.
Lambert also said Pendley’s seven children—who were missing with her—have been found safe in Mexico. A family member told the Indianapolis Star that Pendley was pregnant.
Officials have not yet provided details about what happened. Pendley’s cause and manner of death was not immediately clear.
The timeline that unfolded through Mexican custody adds another layer to the family’s account. The Indianapolis Metro Police Department told the media that the family was located in Mexico last month. Police said the children were taken into custody by Mexican authorities and were later released back to Pendley. On June 9. an email from IMPD said its investigators had not been notified yet about the death of anyone in the case.
As the family tried to make sense of the days before the discovery, Lambert described a difficult home life. She told the Indianapolis Star that Pendley and the father of her children had a “toxic. on-and-off relationship.” The children’s parents had opened paternity cases for the kids. according to court papers reviewed by the media. Court records identified the father as Joseph Butler, who could not immediately be reached for comment.
Records also place the initial report of Pendley missing at Indiana state agencies. According to police reports, on Feb. 25, 2026, an Indiana Department of Child Services family case manager reported Pendley missing. When reached by phone, the department said it does not comment on specific cases.
Those details collide with the uncertainty still hanging over the case: Mexican authorities confirmed the children’s safety, but the death was only identified later, and law enforcement says it had not yet been notified when it occurred.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact their local law enforcement agency or Indianapolis police at 317-327-3811. The U.S. State Department was also contacted for more information.
Makala Pendley missing woman Indianapolis Mexico Zinacantán Chiapas missing children Indianapolis Metro Police Department Indiana Department of Child Services Joseph Butler
I just dont get how she’s gone but the kids are ok like what even happened.
Mexico custody? so they had the kids and then like… gave them back? That part sounds sketchy to me. Why wasn’t everyone notified about the death right away.
It says pregnant too, so was she pregnant and something happened medically? Or is it like foul play. Also people keep saying on-and-off relationship like that means anything by itself.
“Cause and manner not immediately clear” means they dont know, but somehow the body was confirmed June 9… like how long was the body just sitting there? And the timeline is confusing bc Indiana DCS report Feb 25 but she went missing Feb 23, so it feels like somebody dropped the ball. Poor kids, too. Hope they track down what happened fast.