Two Mexican kidnapping survivors reportedly return to US

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The two American citizens who were found alive Tuesday after being kidnapped at gunpoint during cartel crossfire in Mexico have been identified — and have returned to the US, sources said.

Latavia “Tay” McGee and Eric James Williams were rushed to the border near Brownsville, Texas Tuesday in a convoy of ambulances and SUVs escorted by Mexican military Humvees and National Guard trucks with mounted .50-caliber machine guns.

They were found just hours earlier in a rural area east of Matamoros called Ejido Longoreño on the way to the Gulf coast known as “Bagdad Beach,” a Mexican state law enforcement official told the Associated Press.

Just hours after the pair were reportedly found at a clinic in the northeastern border city of Matamoros, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN they would receive medical care at a hospital in Texas.

One of the survivors is said to be seriously injured, sources told CNN.

A female survivor was found alive but injured in Ejido Longoreno, on the outskirts of Matamoros, Mexico. AP

McGee and Williams had traveled to Mexico with pals Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown so McGee could undergo a cosmetic medical procedure.

Shortly after they crossed the border from Texas into the crime-ridden border city of Matamoros, located in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, they were caught in the crosshairs of a shootout between rival cartel gangs.

The foursome was then kidnapped at gunpoint by the ruthless thugs.

Woodard and Brown were confirmed as deceased Tuesday. Their bodies will be examined by Mexican authorities before being repatriated to the US, CNN reported.

The four friends were abducted in Mexico after crossing the border in their white minivan. AP
Zindell Brown has been identified as one of the kidnapped Americans. Family Handout
Eric James Williams was also identified as a kidnapped American. Family Handout
The foursome had traveled to Mexico so Latavia “Tay” McGee could undergo a tummy tuck. Facebook / Latavia âTayâ McGee
Shaeed Woodard was identified as the fourth member of the group. Facebook / Shaeed Woodard

The terrifying ambush was captured in a video that showed unidentified gunmen in bulletproof vests firing on the group’s white minivan before forcing a woman into the bed of a truck.

Two men, who appear either wounded or dead, are then thrown in alongside her.

In a comment to reporters Tuesday, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby was “still working” with Mexican officials over the incident.

The two survivors have reportedly returned to Texas. AP
Unidentified gunmen in bulletproof vests firing on the group’s white minivan before forcing a woman into the bed of a truck.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said one individual was in custody.

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