Two women from Peñitas, a small town outside of McAllen, Texas, have been missing in Mexico since February 24. A third woman traveling with the sisters is also missing.
The women disappeared just a week before four other Americans were kidnapped in Matamoros by Gulf cartel members. Two of the people were killed after cartel members shot the van the group was traveling in.
Maritza Trinidad Pérez Ríos, her sister Marina Perez Rios, and friend Dora Alicia Cervantes Saenz, disappeared on February 24 while on their way to Montemorelos, Nuevo Leon. The women were planning to sell used clothes in a flea market, CNN reported.
The McAllen Monitor reported the women were last seen on camera on February 25 traveling towards General Teran, Nuevo Leon, twelve miles from Montemorelos.
Peñitas Police chief Roberto Bermea told the media that the husband of one of the women spoke with them as they were traveling within Mexico. After he did not hear from the women over the weekend, he contacted authorities.
Though the women have been missing for over two weeks, little information has been released by official sources. In a statement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed it was investigating the women’s disappearance but said it couldn’t comment on the investigation. Nuevo Leon’s state prosecutor’s office has been investigating the disappearance since Monday.
Until recently, the case has not garnered media attention akin to the Matamoros kidnapping and killing of American citizens earlier this month.
The women were last seen driving in a 1996 Chevy Silverado pickup.
The FBI is asking the public to call its San Antonio Division at (210) 225-6741 or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.
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