Woman’s alert saves kidnapped Americans from Mexico trafficking ring. A woman who went to the Mexican border with the four Americans who were kidnapped in the country told police that she alerted authorities when the group failed to return on the scheduled date and time.
Cheryl Orange said in a text message to the Associated Press that she was with Eric Williams, Latavia McGee, Zindell Brown, and Shaeed Woodard. She said that she was with them. Last Friday, McGee was supposed to have cosmetic surgery in the city of Matamoros in Mexico.
The other three were supposed to cross back into the United States and meet up with Orange in the city of Brownsville in Texas within fifteen minutes of dropping McGee off at her appointment. However, McGee was late for her appointment.
Instead, shortly after entering the city, the four friends were subjected to a violent assault. The FBI has reported to CBS News that they were fired upon by drug cartel factions, which ultimately led to the crash of the white van in which they were traveling. During the initial assault, a Mexican woman was shot and killed, and four American citizens were taken, hostage.
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It was reported that the group was missing by Orange on Saturday, according to the police report that was filed by Orange and that was reviewed by CBS News. On Tuesday, officials from both the United States and Mexico announced that the four had been saved.
The officials stated that Brown and Woodard had passed away, and Williams had sustained injuries. Both McGee and Williams have been returned to their home country of the United States. According to the spokesperson for the State Department, they are “still in the process of working to repatriate the remains” of the two people who were killed in the attack.
A Tweet shows how 4 Americans were kidnapped. You can see the Tweet below.
Andy Vermaut shares:4 Americans were kidnapped by heavily armed men in Mexico near the Texas border. Here's what we know so far.: "This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from. To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a… https://t.co/GNhZPwMkkV Thank you. pic.twitter.com/hNShxNuR0Q
— Andy Vermaut (@AndyVermaut) March 7, 2023
The assault as well as the kidnappings are still being investigated. Orange stated to the Associated Press that McGee had “simply gone for a cosmetic surgery, and that’s it.” “That’s all there is to it, and this took place to them.”
Orange was under the impression that McGee was going to have an enhancement done to her glutes, as stated in the police report. Orange did not have any knowledge regarding the medical facility that McGee was going to, nor did she know the path that her friends were going to take in order to arrive in Matamoros.
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Orange explained to the police that the only reason she remained in the group’s hotel room in Brownsville was that she had forgotten her identification and therefore was unable to cross the border. She told the police that she was in possession of their luggage and had made multiple attempts to get in touch with the group, but their phones appeared to be “turned off.”
When Did The FBI Get Information About The Incident?
It is currently unknown when the FBI was made aware of the group that went missing. However, the attorney general in Tamaulipas, the state in which Matamoros is located, has stated that it was through joint search operations with American and Mexican entities that the group was found and recovered. Officials have not provided many details on how the group was found and recovered.
The United States Department of State has issued a “Do Not Travel” advisory for several different states and territories in Mexico, including Tamaulipas. Concerns raised by the department include things like criminal activity and kidnapping.
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