Two of four Americans who disappeared after a violent kidnapping in Mexico last week are dead and the other two have been found alive, one injured, Mexican authorities said Tuesday. The two survivors have returned to the U.S.
Unidentified gunmen opened fire on one woman and three men in a white minivan 2 1/2 hours after they drove into the Mexican border town of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, from Brownsville, Texas, on Friday
Videos captured scenes of gunmen pulling the Americans from their van, forcing them into a white pickup truck and driving away. They were found in a house outside of Matamoros at about 8 a.m. Tuesday.
Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios said no demands for ransom were made. He said the Americans were likely the victims of mistaken identity.
A unidentified 33-year-old Mexican woman described as “an innocent citizen” was also killed in Friday’s shooting, Mexican authorities said.
Relatives told media sources that the four Americans were from the Myrtle Beach, S.C., area.
Barrios identified the two deceased Americans as Shaeed Woodard, 33, and Zindell Brown, in his mid-20s. The bodies are being autopsied and will be returned to the U.S., officials said.
The two survivors were identified as Latavia Washington McGee and Eric Williams, who was reported injured with a leg wound not considered life-threatening.
The four went to Mexico so Latavia McGee could have tummy tuck surgery, a cosmetic surgical procedure, ABC News reported.
CNN and others reported the Americans may have been mistaken for Haitian drug smugglers.
Opinion:Mexican drug cartels are terrorizing Americans. Here’s how the US needs to fight back.
As the investigation continues, here is what we know:
Friday, March 3
Four Americans, one woman and three men, enter Matamoros in a white Chrysler Pacifica minivan with North Carolina license plates after crossing the border at Brownsville.
The minivan is hit by another vehicle at an intersection and unidentified gunman fire on it. A white pickup stops nearby, armed men emerge and force the Americans into the bed of the truck. The pickup drives away.
Sunday, March 5
As Mexican police search for the Americans, the FBI in San Antonio, Texas, says it’s seeking help in finding them. It offers a $50,000 reward for information leading to their return or capture of those responsible.
Monday, March 6
U.S. law enforcement agencies are working with the Mexican authorities to find the Americans, says Ken Salazar, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico.
Tuesday, March 7
Two of the kidnapped Americans are found dead, Mexican government officials announce. At least one of them died at the scene of the abduction, a Mexican official said. The other two Americans are alive, and one of them is injured, said Tamaulipas Gov. Américo Villarreal. The other American is reportedly unharmed.
The survivors returned to the U.S. in a convoy of Mexican ambulances and SUVs. They were escorted by Mexican military Humvees, armored vehicles, state police and National Guard in trucks with mounted .50-caliber machine guns, said Tamaulipas state Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica.
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SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Associated Press