This article was updated on March 23 to reflect new information.
US and Mexican officials have announced that the four missing Americans who were abducted by gunmen in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico on March 3, 2023 were located on Tuesday, March 7.
The victims have been identified as close friends from South Carolina, who traveled across the border to fulfill a medical procedure in Mexico for one of their group, Latavia Washington McGee. McGee and Eric Williams, another victim, were hospitalized in Texas for observation and medical care, while the other two victims, Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, were found dead. McGee was confirmed to be uninjured, while Williams was shot three times, twice in one leg and once in the other. An innocent Mexican bystander was also killed in the crossfire, US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said. She was confirmed to have been hit by a stray bullet during the shootout.
The victims were found in a “wooden house," and had been moved by their captors to various locations over the course of the four days following their abduction to avoid the possibility of rescue. Mexican authorities believe the attack and kidnapping may have been results of the victims entering a cartel-occupied zone in Matamoros. Tamaulipas governor Américo Villarreal said that one individual has been detained in connection to the incident, though it is not confirmed if they are affiliated with a larger criminal organization.
