Two of four Americans kidnapped in Mexico were found dead and the other two are found alive
Mexican authorities revealed that two of the Americans kidnapped last Wednesday were found dead, and two others are still alive.
Americo Villareal Anaya, the governor of the state of Tamaulipas, where the group was ambushed at gunpoint on Friday, March 3, confirmed the news in a phone call with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday morning, March 7.
He stated that one of the survivors had been injured and that ambulances were “rushing into the area to rescue them and provide them with medical care.”
Lopez Obrador stated on Tuesday afternoon that one suspect was being held, according to the Associated Press.
“Those responsible will be found and they are going to be punished,” he said.
The FBI has said the U.S. citizens crossed over into Matamoros, Tamaulipas, from Brownsville, Texas, on Friday, driving a white minivan with North Carolina plates.
The FBI said a gunman fired upon the passengers before moving them into another vehicle and fleeing the scene, sparking a frantic search by law enforcement agencies in both countries.
U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar said “an innocent Mexican citizen” was killed in the attack.
The FBI offered a $50,000 reward for their return and the arrest of those involved.
Zalandria Brown told the Associated Press that her brother, Zindell, and two friends had accompanied a third friend to Mexico for a cosmetic surgery procedure known as a tummy tuck.
“This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from,” she said. “To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable.”
Mexican officials now say the group was caught in the crossfire of rival cartel groups, the AP reports.
