(CNN) Two of the four Americans kidnapped by armed gunmen in a Mexican border town on Friday were found dead and two were found alive, Tamaulipas Gov. Américo Villarreal Anaya said in a phone call with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that was played at a news conference Tuesday.
The governor said “ambulances and security personnel” are now attending and providing medical support to the survivors.
The four Americans were located in what appears to be a medical clinic in Matamoros, a US official familiar with the ongoing CNN investigation said. One of the two survivors was seriously injured, the official said.
Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios also confirmed the developments in a tweet.
“Removed from the joint search actions, the four American citizens who were deprived of their freedom on Friday have been found,” he said. “Sadly, two are dead. Investigation and intelligence work continues to arrest those responsible. Details will be provided later.”
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A member of Mexico’s security forces stands next to a white minivan with North Carolina plates and several bullet holes.
The news came a few days after the group was kidnapped at gunpoint in Matamoros in an alleged case of mistaken identity.
The four Americans were a tight-knit group of friends who traveled from South Carolina to Mexico so that one of them – a mother of six – could undergo a medical procedure across the border, two family members told CNN. Upon crossing the border, they were opened fire by unknown gunmen who were “placed in a car and taken away from the scene by armed men,” according to the FBI.
Investigators believe the Americans were targeted by a Mexican cartel who may have mistaken them for Haitian drug traffickers, a US official familiar with the ongoing investigation told CNN. The U.S. citizens have no criminal history known to investigators, the official said.
An innocent Mexican was also killed in the encounter, said US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar.
Latavia “Tay” Washington McGee, 33, drove to Mexico with Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and their friend Eric Williams for the procedure, but she never made it to her doctor’s appointment Friday, her mother said. CNN’s Barbara Burgess.
On Sunday, Burgess said the FBI notified her that her daughter had been kidnapped and was in danger. “They said, if he calls me, call them,” he said.
Their abduction highlights the ongoing violence that has plagued some Mexican cities during Mexico’s long-running drug war as well as the growing business of “medical tourism.”
Matamoros, a city in the state of Tamaulipas, has a population of over 500,000 people and is located just across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas. The US State Department has issued a “Level 4: Do Not Travel” advisory for US citizens considering going to Tamaulipas, citing crime and kidnapping.
Mom is traveling for a medical procedure
This trip was the second time that Washington McGee, a mother of six, went to Mexico for a medical procedure, his mother said. About two to three years ago, Burgess said, her daughter traveled to the country for surgery.
Receipts found in the group’s car showed the Americans were in Mexico for medical procedures, a US official with knowledge of the investigation told CNN.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Monday that the group crossed the border to “buy drugs” and assured that the “entire government” was working to solve the case.
Mexico has become an increasingly popular destination for “medical tourism,” attracting travelers who may be looking for cheaper alternatives or medical treatments that are not approved or available in the US. But the CDC warns that the growing trend could carry serious risks depending on the destination and facility, including infection and possible post-procedure complications.
The group of missing Americans grew up together in South Carolina and are bound together “like glue,” Brown’s sister Zalandria Brown told CNN. He added that they are also close to his brother.
“Zindell is like my shadow, he is like my son, like a bone in my hip. We are very close,” he said.
Mexican federal and local authorities are joining the effort to find the missing Americans, Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica said Monday.
Investigators are working to collect surveillance footage, collect ballistics and fingerprint evidence, take biological samples for genetic profiles and process the vehicles involved, Tamaulipas officials said. A joint task force of federal and state agencies has also been created to process information and communicate with US officials, Barrios Mojica said.
The FBI is also asking for the public’s help in locating and identifying Americans anyone involved in the incident. The agency announced a $50,000 reward for the return of the victims and the arrest of those responsible.
CNN has reached out to the FBI, the Tamaulipas Secretary of Public Security’s office and the Mexican Attorney General’s Office for more information.
‘We don’t know if he’s dead or alive’
Two vehicles have come to rest in Matamoros, Mexico, at a scene that a US official says is connected to the missing Americans.
Washington McGee’s aunt, Mary McFadden, told CNN that when the family did not hear from a group of friends on Sunday, they began searching online for any news related to their travel destination. Then, the family saw a video that McFadden had described showing his nephew being kidnapped.
“We recognized her and her blonde hair,” McFadden said. He said he also recognized his nephew’s clothes from a live video posted by Washington McGee on Facebook early Friday.
“It happened in broad daylight. We don’t know if he’s dead or alive. The last picture we saw, he was walking alive,” said McFadden.
“She’s a mother and we need her to come back here for her children,” he said, adding that Washington McGee’s children range in age from 6 to 18 years old.
A video obtained by CNN shows a woman and other unidentified people being roughly loaded into a white pickup truck. CNN confirmed that the video matched the incident but did not confirm that it was the four Americans shown in the video.
The video shows the woman being pulled or pushed into the bed of the truck by two unidentified men while a third armed man is seen looking on. The three men appeared to be dragging at least two limp people into the bed of the truck, the video showed.
Additionally, photos obtained by CNN appear to show fragments of the scene where the situation took place, including the car believed to be driven by the Americans crashing into another car before they were taken from the scene at gunpoint. .
The US citizen was driving a white minivan with North Carolina plates, according to the FBI in San Antonio.
The FBI would not confirm the authenticity of the photos, but CNN geolocated the images and confirmed their authenticity with a US official with knowledge of the investigation.
The photos also show a woman watching and then sitting next to three people lying on the ground outside a white minivan. Open all the doors of the van. It is unclear if the four people in the photos are US citizens.
The woman then appears to be loaded into the bed of a white pickup truck, next to which several people can be seen lying on the road, photos show.
A photo showed an ambulance had arrived, but it was unclear if medical attention was provided.
CNN’s Abel Alvarado, Josh Campbell, Paul Murphy, Rosa Flores, Sam Fossum, Andy Babineau, Polo Sandoval, Rebekah Reiss and Jorge Engels contributed to this report.
