Mexico questions police over disappeared butterfly activist

MEXICO -- Prosecutors in western Mexico have called in 53 local police for questioning in the Jan. 14 disappearance of a long-time promoter and protector of the wintering grounds of the monarch butterfly.

Police in the towns of Angangueo and Ocampo were called in for questioning late Monday, after the head of the management council of the El Rosario butterfly reserve vanished.

Prosecutors in the western state of Michoacán did not specify what made them suspect the police might have information on the whereabouts of Homero Gómez.

Gomez is a former communal land officer who has led efforts to preserve the pine and fir forests where the butterflies spend the winter. He posted his last video of himself in the El Rosario reserve Jan. 13, encouraging tourists to visit the reserve.