3 women missing in Mexico after crossing from Texas on trip
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.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the three women crossed into Mexico on Feb. 24, a Friday, according to Bermea. Peñitas is just a few hundred feet from the Rio Grande River.
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.
Bermea said the women were traveling in a green mid-1990s Chevy Silverado to a flea market in the city of Montemorelos, in Nuevo Leon state. It’s about a three-hour drive from the border.
FIVE MORE ARRESTED IN KIDNAPPING OF 4 AMERICANS IN MEXICO
Another five people have been arrested in Mexico for the kidnapping of four Americans, two of whom were killed amid the violent abduction.
The group of suspects were taken into custody Friday on charges including aggravated kidnapping and simple intention homicide, Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica wrote on Twitter shortly before 11:30 a.m. local time.
A sixth person arrested earlier this week was also being held in connection with the daytime abduction of Latavia “Tay” McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown, and Eric James Williams.
The quartet traveled from South Carolina to the border city of Matamoros for a tummy tuck procedure, booked by McGee for March 3.
The arrest announcement comes a day after the Scorpions faction of the Gulf Cartel – the group believed to be responsible for the kidnappings – sent a letter to law enforcement condemning the violence, which they say was carried out by rogue members.
“We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decisionmaking and lack of discipline,”
the letter said.