An American OnlyFans creator with alleged links to Mexico’s criminal underworld was kidnapped at gunpoint outside a shopping center in Culiacán, Sinaloa, on Tuesday, according to local authorities and video footage captured by her own vehicle.
Nicole Pardo Molina, a 20-year-old Mexican-American influencer known online and locally for driving a custom lilac Tesla Cybertruck, was abducted by multiple armed men in what authorities believe may be connected to cartel rivalries in the region.
Footage obtained from the Cybertruck’s onboard cameras shows the moment the attack unfolded. A white Toyota Corolla pulls alongside Molina’s vehicle after tire spikes are deployed to force her to stop. Several men exit the car and attempt to drag her away as she resists, slamming doors and trying to retreat back into her truck.
According to El País, three armed men traveling in a stolen vehicle intercepted Molina and forcibly removed her from the Cybertruck before fleeing the scene at speed. The incident took place outside a mall in Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa and a long-standing stronghold of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Molina had reportedly been selling merchandise featuring the image of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán near the shopping center. Media reports note that the neighborhood where she was staying—and where her father originates—is believed to be controlled by a rival faction within the Sinaloa Cartel, raising the possibility that the kidnapping was motivated by internal cartel tensions rather than random criminality.
Local officials have confirmed Molina’s disappearance and opened a missing persons investigation. The Attorney General’s Office of the State of Sinaloa said her whereabouts remain unknown and warned that “her safety may be at risk, as she could be the victim of a crime.”
Molina, who has more than 180,000 followers on Instagram, was a familiar figure in Culiacán, in part due to her highly visible Cybertruck, which made her difficult to miss in the city’s streets. That visibility may have worked against her.
Born and raised in the United States, Molina’s parents currently reside in Phoenix, Arizona. According to El País, she frequently traveled between Phoenix and Culiacán and left school in the U.S. following the COVID-19 pandemic to pursue business ventures in Mexico.
While authorities have not confirmed any direct criminal involvement prior to the abduction, investigators are examining whether the incident is tied to the ongoing power struggle between rival criminal groups in Sinaloa.
The case highlights the growing risks faced by influencers and online personalities operating in cartel-controlled regions. In 2025 alone, hundreds of women were reported missing or kidnapped in Sinaloa, according to official figures. A number of social media figures have also been threatened or killed after publicly aligning—intentionally or otherwise—with specific cartel factions.
In May 2025, influencer Valeria Márquez was shot and killed during a TikTok livestream, a murder that underscored the increasingly public nature of cartel violence in the digital age.
For now, authorities say the search for Molina continues. No arrests have been announced, and no group has claimed responsibility.
Last modified: January 23, 2026
