Paulino Norberto Del Mundo, also known as Pauline, Paula, or Paulino Norberto Del Mundo Jr., was a 59‑year‑old naturalized Filipino‑American resident of Tampa, Florida, working as a certified nursing assistant at a federal veterans hospital. Although identified as male on her legal documents, she was a transgender woman who lived as Paula or Pauline and was described by family as bubbly and close‑knit.
On **September 14, 2019**, Del Mundo was on a flight from Tampa to Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport connecting via American Airlines to a planned holiday in Cozumel, Mexico. During a layover at DFW, she contacted her sister in California just before 6 p.m. Dallas time, saying she had changed her mind about continuing to Cozumel and needed help booking a return to Tampa. Her tone sounded “on the verge of desperation,” according to family members.
Although video surveillance footage showed her arriving in Terminal C at 10:30 p.m., still carrying a bright yellow Nautica trolley bag, she never boarded the flight to Cozumel and never returned to Tampa. She also never checked into the Iberostar Hotel in Cozumel as had been planned. During recorded movements, she appeared to deliberately leave her luggage behind and walked away with only her wallet; the trolley bag has never been located.
Surveillance footage captured a concerning sequence: she walked approximately 2½ miles along International Parkway past airport terminals around 1:48 a.m., reached the south service road near the warehouse district, and sat on a curb near the intersection of South 20th Avenue and South Airfield Drive. She remained seated until about 3:52 a.m., when she suddenly stood and walked eastward around a DFW Airport sign, disappearing from camera view thereafter. This was the final confirmed sighting of her.
The warehouse‑district area where she vanished is technically still airport property but leased to private businesses. It includes construction sites, ditches, ravines, swampy and wooded brush areas, and a small lake—terrain that investigators deemed difficult to search thoroughly with limited personnel. Community United Effort working with the Malaya Movement and her family, conducted a volunteer search of the area but found no trace; further searches were planned in surrounding areas outside terminal access zones.
By October 2019, about a month after she disappeared, DFW Airport Police and the FBI had joined efforts but reported no new leads. Trained K‑9 units were deployed; investigators explored possible exits via ride‑share, bus, or taxi but discovered nothing conclusive. Her mobile phone and bank accounts remained inactive since her disappearance.
Medical details in various reports indicate she was recovering from rotator cuff surgery at the time, experiencing chronic pain and limited mobility—factors that contributed to her depression and mental strain during travel.
Del Mundo is described as approximately 5'6", medium build, weighing between 130–140 lbs, with long brown hair, brown eyes, double‑pierced ears, and a distinctive flower tattoo on her right forearm. She also had a "hot dog"‑shaped light‑brown birthmark on her side, used full dentures, and had some scarring or medical marks related to surgery.
As of **July 2025**, the case remained unresolved. The NamUs database and multiple missing‑persons platforms confirm there has been no contact or confirmed sighting since her disappearance on September 14, 2019. The case continues to be listed as open and classified as "endangered missing" due to her vulnerable mental and physical health at the time.
The family continues to seek answers, expressing deep concern and uncertainty over whether she might have been assaulted, abducted, harmed, or perhaps became disoriented in unfamiliar surroundings. Appeals for information ask anyone with relevant details to reach out to Dallas–Fort Worth Airport Police, the CUE Center for Missing Persons, or the Philippine Consulate or Embassy contacts previously provided.
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The disappearance of Paulino Norberto Del Mundo remains mysterious: after walking miles away from the airport, she vanished from surveillance in a remote part of airport grounds. Despite extensive media coverage, volunteer searches, and law enforcement effort, her whereabouts remain unknown.Last Seen: Sep 14, 2019
