The governor of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas says the missing Americans kidnapped in Mexico have been found, according to the Associated Press. Two of the four are dead, one is wounded and the other is unharmed.
The individuals reportedly crossed from Brownsville, Texas, into Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, on March 3. The FBI says they were in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates.
"Shortly after crossing into Mexico, unidentified gunmen fired upon the passengers in the vehicle," the FBI stated.
The Associated Press reported that Zalandria Brown, a sister to one of the Americans traveling to Mexico, said her brother and two friends went with another friend to support them while they were preparing for a tummy tuck surgery in Mexico.
She said her brother Zindell Brown was one of the four missing Americans.
Video posted by investigative journalist Gildo Garza is believed to show evidence of the kidnappings. It showed what looked like one person lying motionless in the middle of the street. Cars honked as three armed men, including two with bulletproof vests, dragged the body along with three others into a pickup truck.
In a statement, U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar said a Mexican citizen was killed during the gunpoint kidnapping.
Scripps News geolocated the video to the same area referenced in a State Department alert issued Friday, and was working to confirm its authenticity through official channels.
Andrea Rudnik, the co-founder of nonprofit Team Brownsville, says her organization commutes to Matamoros to help asylum seekers.
"We've seen and known about other kidnappings along the border," she said. "We know that it's something that occurs. It's never good, but it's also infrequent."
