Two of the four people kidnapped in Mexico after traveling from South Carolina have been found dead, while the other two are alive, officials announced on Tuesday.
Tamaulipas Gov. Américo Villarreal announced the deaths, as well as that one of the survivors was wounded and the other was not, according to the Associated Press.
Mexican officials had announced on Monday that four Americans were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen after crossing into Mexico to buy medicine.
Villarreal confirmed the deaths by phone during a morning news conference. He did not share any additional details about the victims, or where or how they were found, the AP reported.
Latavia “Tay Washington McGee drove with Zindell Brown, Shaeed Woodard, and one other friend, all from South Carolina, to Mexico and were kidnapped. Barbara Burgess, McGee’s mother, told CNN on Monday.
Zalandria Brown of Florence, South Carolina, told the USA Today that her younger brother, Zindell Brown of Myrtle Beach, was among the four Americans kidnapped. She said she has been in contact with the FBI and local officials.
“Jesus my soul gone. Why my brother lord,” Zalandria Brown posted Monday on her Facebook page along with link to a story about the kidnappings.
During a Monday press briefing, Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, confirmed President Joe Biden was aware of the situation and that U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar had been meeting with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. However, the administration doesn’t “have anything to preview or to lay out about the meeting that Salazar is having with the president of Mexico,” Jean-Pierre said. “But we see Mexico as a close ally, an important partnership that we have in the region. And clearly, we want to continue it to grow.”
Brown told USA Today that her brother and two friends had traveled with a third friend who was visiting Mexico for a tummy tuck surgery. The four were extremely close and planned to split up driving duties.
They were aware of the dangers in Mexico and her brother had expressed some misgivings about the trip, Brown told USA Today.
Brown also posted an amateur video on her Facebook page that other news outlets have reported as footage of the kidnapping. To view the video, click here. Warning, the video might be unsuitable for some viewers.
The FBI announced it is seeking the public’s aid in identifying the kidnappers and is offering a $50,000 reward for the return of the victims and arrest of the culprits.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call FBI San Antonio Division or submit a tip online.
