THE MISSING: Honduras | A Young Man Seeking the American Dream | NBC Left Field

Hector Eduardo Montoya was 19 years old in 2013 when he fled to the United States to escape the violence in Honduras. He comes from a town called El Progreso, in a region of Honduras often referred to as one of the most dangerous places on Earth. Around the time that Hector left home, 20 people on average were killed each day in Honduras, a country of only 8 million. But the trip north can often prove dangerous. Many Central-American migrants cross borders in treacherous conditions, try to board fast-moving trains, and sometimes fall prey to abuse and kidnappings by Mexican cartels and other groups. If they manage to reach northern Mexico, crossing into the U.S. across long stretches of desert can be deadly, as migrants often run out of food and water. Since Hector’s disappearance, his mother, Corina, joined a support group of Honduran mothers in search of loved ones who also went missing on the migration path to the north. In El Progreso, we visit Corina, along with Hector’s father, Enrique, and his sister, Gabriela, to hear how just how devastating Hector’s disappearance has been on the Montoya family.