Zalandria Brown said her brother, who lives in Myrtle Beach, and two friends had accompanied a third friend who was going to Mexico for a tummy tuck surgery. A doctor who advertises such surgeries in Matamoros did not answer calls seeking comment.
Brown said the group was extremely close and they all made the trip in part to help split up the driving duties. They were aware of the dangers in Mexico, she added, and her brother had expressed some misgivings.
“Zindell kept saying, ‘We shouldn’t go down,’” Brown said.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Monday the four Americans were in the country for medicine.
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said various U.S. justice agencies were working with their Mexican law enforcement counterparts to recover the missing victims.
On Monday, Mexican army soldiers gathered in Matamoros and began a search mission for the Americans.
![Mexican army soldiers prepare a search mission for four U.S. citizens kidnapped by gunmen at Matamoros, Mexico, Monday, March 6, 2023. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the four Americans were going to buy medicine and were caught in the crossfire between two armed groups after they had entered Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas, on Friday.]()
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden is aware of the situation and is “closely following the assault and kidnapping.”
Jean-Pierre declined to answer other questions, citing privacy concerns.