Kidnapping of Americans in Mexico shakes up families

LAKE CITY, SC (AP) — The kidnapping of four Americans in a northern Mexican town has shaken families in North and South Carolina, who have spent agonizing days waiting to hear if their loved ones survived a road trip to undergo fatal cosmetic surgery.

Questions about the attack lingered on Tuesday as authorities reported two deaths and transferred the other two survivors, both from Lake City, South Carolina, to the United States.

Relatives were seeking details and federal officials have vowed to investigate how Latavia Burgess, Shaeed Woodard, Eric Williams and Zindell Brown came into crossfire with Mexican drug cartels, a video later released in captured line.

“I just want them to come home,” Zalandria Brown, Zindell Brown’s older sister, said Monday night. “Dead or alive, bring them home.”

Brown said her brother, who lives in Myrtle Beach, and two other friends accompanied Burgess to Matamoros, which borders Brownsville, Texas, where it was believed she was to undergo a tummy tuck.

The four were like “siblings” after growing up together in a small town in the Pee Dee area of ​​South Carolina, he explained. They planned to split the hours behind the wheel to get to the medical procedure. However, he said his brother raised concerns about possible risks during the trip.

Family members who were initially unaware of the trip felt distraught and confused as information came in from other family members and the news. Zindell Brown’s grandmother, Marie Singletary, testified Monday night that she had been “in denial” since her sister told her about the kidnappings that day. Her grandson hadn’t mentioned the trip the last time they spoke, about two weeks ago.

Likewise, Eric Williams’ family knew nothing. Sylvia Williams, his mother, said her son did not mention the trip when they spoke on the phone a week ago. He didn’t think he had ever traveled outside the United States.

Tuesday afternoon, he still had no official information. He found out about the operation by watching the news. And he hadn’t heard that the Mexican government had reported the deaths of two of the American travelers.

Jerry Wallace, Williams’ cousin, said he had lost his appetite and had trouble sleeping due to worry, and authorities should have been more direct with the family.

“It’s really hard trying to wait and listen to what’s going on and not know anything,” Wallace said.

Robert Williams said he also didn’t know his brother was going to Mexico until the kidnappings hit the headlines. The brothers, who he described as “pretty close”, are originally from South Carolina but now live in the Winston-Salem area of ​​North Carolina. Williams noted that her brother was “easy-going” and “fun” and said he probably didn’t consider the trip dangerous.

When he finally learned on Tuesday afternoon that his brother had survived, Robert Williams was relieved.

“I can’t wait to see him again and to be able to talk to him,” Williams said.

“I’m just going to tell him how happy I am to see him,” Williams added, “and how happy I am that he survived and that I love him.”

___

Loller reported in Nashville, Tennessee.