FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive Alejandro Rosales Castillo Captured in Mexico After Nearly a Decade on the Run

One of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, Alejandro “Alex” Rosales Castillo, has been captured in Pachuca, ending a nearly ten-year international fugitive investigation tied to a 2016 homicide in North Carolina.

The arrest occurred on January 16, 2026, following coordinated operations between U.S. and Mexican authorities. Castillo is currently detained in Mexico City, where he remains in custody pending extradition proceedings to the United States.

Castillo was initially identified fleeing the United States after being recorded on surveillance video crossing the border from Nogales into Mexico on August 16, 2016, one day before the victim’s body was discovered. Since that time, investigators with the FBI Charlotte Field Office and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department maintained an active fugitive investigation, tracking leads across jurisdictions and international boundaries.

Castillo was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on October 24, 2017, elevating the case to a national and international priority. He is charged with the murder of Truc Quan “Sandy” Ly Le, a 23-year-old Charlotte woman whose body was found on August 17, 2016, in a wooded area in Cabarrus County. A state arrest warrant charging first-degree murder was issued on November 2, 2016, followed by a federal warrant on February 10, 2017, for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

Mexican authorities apprehended Castillo through coordinated efforts involving the FBI Law Enforcement Attaché, Mexico’s Agencia de Investigación Criminal (AIC-INTERPOL), and the Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana. The operation reflects sustained bilateral cooperation on violent fugitive apprehensions and extraditable offenses.

Investigators determined that Castillo had remained concealed in Mexico for several years, evading detection while attempting to maintain a low-profile existence. Authorities have not disclosed the specific intelligence breakthrough that led to his capture, citing operational security and ongoing extradition procedures.

The case represents one of the more prolonged fugitive pursuits associated with the Ten Most Wanted program, which was established in 1950 to focus public and law enforcement attention on the most dangerous and elusive criminal suspects. Castillo was the 516th individual placed on the list. Since its inception, the program has resulted in the apprehension or location of the majority of those named.

Upon extradition to North Carolina, Castillo is expected to face prosecution for first-degree murder in state court, along with federal proceedings related to unlawful flight. The timing of extradition will depend on Mexican judicial processes and bilateral treaty requirements.

Law enforcement officials involved in the case emphasized that the capture underscores the long-term nature of fugitive investigations and the reality that international borders do not eliminate accountability for violent crimes. The arrest closes a significant chapter in a case that has remained unresolved for the victim’s family for nearly a decade.

The investigation involved sustained collaboration among federal, state, local, and international partners, including the FBI International Operations Division, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office.

This case remains active pending extradition and judicial proceedings in the United States.

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