A brave college student who became the police chief of one of the most violent towns in Mexico was fired Monday for not showing up for work after she received death threats .
Marisol Valles Garcia, 20, took over as the town's police chief in November 2010, more than a year after the last police chief was shot to death.
"I'm doing this for my people," she said at the time. "This is not for me. I'm tired of all the drug violence."
On Monday, city officials said she had been granted a leave of absence for a few days to travel to the U.S. but had failed to return on time.
Her whereabouts are unknown, and some officials are worried that she may be in harm's way.
"Right now Marisol needs support and one way to be supportive is to leave her in the office," Human Rights Commission official Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson said. "To fire her is to leave her completely alone."
De la Rosa Hickerson said the young police chief had been repeatedly threatened and there may have been an attempt to kidnap her, as is sadly the fate of many local officials when they try to cross the drug gangs that have held the country hostage.
The news of Garcia's firing came on the same day that police in Acapulco, Mexico said they found three severed heads in plastic bags. A note left at the scene said the killings were revenge for the death of another man.
Acapulco, a town once synonymous with American spring break, has become increasingly dangerous - something authorities blame on the warring drug gangs.
Nearly 35,000 people have been killed since President Felipe Calderon began cracking down on the cartels in December 2006.
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