Former Mexico presidential candidate missing

Prosecutors said that the car of Diego Fernandez de Cevallos was found near his ranch in the central state of Queretaro. It said some of his belongings were found inside the car as well as unspecified "signs of violence."

The Mexican newspaper El Universal reported that federal sources said Fernandez de Cevallos had been kidnapped, but a federal prosecutor's spokeswoman said she could not confirm that.

Queretaro state Attorney General Arsenio Duran told the radio station Formato 21 that investigators found blood stains inside the car and a pair of eyeglasses, a pen and a pair of scissors that relatives said Fernandez de Cevallos often carried with him.

Duran said a night watchman told police Fernandez de Cevallos was supposed to arrive to his ranch in the town of Pedro Escobedo on Friday night but that he never made it.
Relatives who had planned to have breakfast with him yesterday morning reported him missing, Duran said. Relatives told authorities no one had contacted them to ask for a ransom.

Fernandez de Cevallos, 69, was the 1994 presidential candidate of the National Action Party that now governs Mexico and he has continued to be an influential figure, as well as one of Mexico's most successful attorneys.