Three women missing in Mexico after crossing from Texas

Two sisters from Texas and a friend are missing in Mexico after they crossed the border last month to sell clothes at a flea market, U.S. authorities said Friday.

The abduction of four Americans in Mexico that was caught on video last week received an avalanche of attention and was resolved in a matter of days. But the fate of the three women, who haven’t been heard from in about two weeks, remains a mystery and has garnered relatively little publicity.

The FBI said Friday it is aware that two sisters from Peñitas, a small border city in Texas near Mcallen, and their friend have gone missing. Peñitas Police Chief Roel Bermea said their families have been in touch with Mexican authorities, who are investigating their disappearance.

Beyond that, officials in the U.S. and Mexico haven’t said much about their pursuit of Maritza Trinidad Perez Rios, 47; Marina Perez Rios, 48; and their friend, Dora Alicia Cervantes Saenz, 53.

The episode stands in contrast to the government and media frenzy over the abduction of four Americans on a road trip to Mexico for plastic surgery. They were caught in a drug cartel shootout in the border city of Matamoros, and video showed them being hauled off in a pickup. The two survivors were found Tuesday in a wooden shack near the Gulf coast.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the three women crossed into Mexico on Feb. 24, a Friday, according to Bermea.

The husband of one of the women spoke to her by phone while she was traveling in Mexico, the police chief said, but grew concerned when he couldn’t reach her afterward.

“Since he couldn’t make contact over that weekend, he came in that Monday and reported it to us,” Bermea said. The three women haven’t been heard from since.