In November, for example, a friend put them in touch with Deputy Interior Secretary Felipe Zamora Castro, a high-level official who promised to help. Two days later, Mr. Zamora was killed in the helicopter crash that also took the life of his boss, Francisco Blake Mora, the interior secretary.

Seeking Help Abroad

The Cazareses now say that they are back to square one: lower-level officials at the Interior Ministry have asked that they file official paperwork, which means additional delay.

“Not a single Mexican authority will help us,” said Zynthia Cazares, the sister of Rodolfo, fidgeting with her jewelry in the Texas home where she now lives amid photographs of the missing and statues of the Virgin Mary. “God has asked us to have patience, confidence and faith.”

The family has also sought help from abroad. Ludivine Cazares, Rodolfo’s wife, recently started to rally support in Europe, writing to French and German officials. The Cazareses are also trying to involve the United States. The five missing men are all Mexican, but as is common in border families, many of their relatives are American citizens or legal residents, and the gang members seem to fear American authority; the 9-year-old boy kidnapped from the first home was dropped off at the border right away, the kidnappers told the women, because he was born in the United States to an American mother who had contacted the F.B.I.

American officials, who were not aware of the Cazares case, said they, too, were extremely frustrated with Mexico’s lack of progress on judicial reform, but they added there was little they could do to quickly remedy a problem of law, culture and bureaucracy.

The Cazareses nonetheless want more. They ask why American aid sent to help Mexico to fight the drug cartels still seems so disconnected from victims; why progress — if there is any — seems so slow. “The American money never reaches the people who really need it,” Zynthia Cazares said, maintaining that her relatives could still be saved. “We need help. Now.”