Three Texas women who traveled into Mexico via the US border are believed to be missing, according to police. The women were reportedly attempting to attend a flea market but have not been heard from for more than two weeks.
The disappearance of the women is being investigated by Mexican authorities, according to reports from The Associated Press and CNN.
The women have been identified as Marina Perez Rios, 48, her sister Martiza Trinidad Perez Rios, 47, and their friend Dora Alicia Cervantes Saenz, 53.
After they crossed into Mexico on Feb. 24, the three women headed to their destination, which was about a 3-hour drive from the US border, Peñitas Police Chief Roel Bermea shared with CNN. The flea market they were planning on selling clothes at is located in Montemorelos in the Mexican state of Nuevo León.
The disappearance of the women is being investigated by authorities in Mexico and various other police agencies. According to a source in the Nuevo León Attorney General’s office cited by CNN, the search also includes the use of drones, dogs, and vehicles.
Bermea shared with the AP that one of the missing women was last heard from when she spoke to her husband while they were on the road. A source also told CNN that the women had reportedly contacted someone at the flea market, saying they had taken a wrong turn and were in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.
Since then, no one had heard from any of the women, leading one of their husbands to contact the Peñitas Police Department.
“Since he couldn’t make contact over that weekend, he came in that Monday and reported it to us,” Bermea told the AP.
The women were last seen driving a 1995 Chevy Silverado, both reports shared.
The FBI has commented on the situation, telling CNN it was “unable to provide comment” on the ongoing investigation. Still, it “relentlessly pursues all options when it comes to protecting the American people, and this doesn’t change when they are endangered across the border.”
The three women went missing a week before four Americans were kidnapped in the Mexican border city of Matarmos, on March 3.
Two of the Americans were found dead, Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown. Mexican officials returned their bodies to the US last Thursday.
The other two Americans who were kidnapped, LaTavia Washington McGee and Eric Williams, survived their abduction and were taken to a hospital after returning to the country last Tuesday.
Their abduction resulted in six people being arrested and an apology letter being issued by the Gulf Cartel, which is believed to be responsible for the kidnapping, as it turned in five of its members to local authorities.
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