Nicole Pardo Molina, a 20-year-old influencer with alleged ties to Mexican cartels, was abducted by armed men from her distinctive lilac Cybertruck in Culiacán, Sinaloa, on January 20, 2026. The incident, captured on the vehicle's cameras, occurred in broad daylight outside a shopping mall. Authorities have issued a missing persons alert as the investigation continues.
Nicole Pardo Molina, known online as "La Nicholette," was kidnapped around 5 p.m. on Tachiquilte Avenue near San Esteban Street in Culiacán, Sinaloa state, northwest Mexico. The 20-year-old, born and raised in the United States with parents in Phoenix, Arizona, had been traveling between Culiacán and Phoenix. She was last seen wearing a purple top and black trousers, standing 5 feet 3 inches tall with straight light brown hair and coffee-colored eyes.
Video from her lilac Cybertruck shows two to three masked men forcing Molina into a white Toyota Corolla after pulling up beside her vehicle outside a shopping mall. One attacker concealed his face with a red scarf, and Molina briefly resisted, attempting to shut the car's door and return to her Cybertruck. The suspects then sped away, leaving the Cybertruck abandoned at the scene. Authorities later removed the vehicle for evidence analysis.
Molina, who boasts around 170,000 Instagram followers, 119,000 on TikTok, and active accounts on Twitch, Snapchat, and OnlyFans, shares content about her luxury lifestyle, including dance clips and humor. She rose to prominence in Mexico after commissioning the corrido "La Muchacha del Salado" by Grupo Arriesgado for her 16th birthday in 2022, which has garnered over 27 million YouTube views. She also started a jewelry business and owned a hat and clothing store in the same shopping plaza where the abduction occurred.
The area is controlled by Los Mayos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel led by Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, whom Molina referenced in older videos as "the man with the hat." However, no confirmed links exist between her and criminal groups. In 2025, official figures reported 398 women kidnapped or disappeared in Sinaloa alone, highlighting the risks for young influencers amid cartel violence. Similar incidents include the May 2025 murder of TikToker Valeria Márquez during a livestream. The State Attorney General’s Office has no updates on Molina's whereabouts or the motive.
