Two sisters from a Texas border town and another woman have reportedly disappeared after crossing the border into Mexico last month to sell clothes at a flea market.
The Associated Press reported on Friday that Marina Perez Rios, 48, and her younger sister Maritza Trinidad Perez Rios, 47, have not heard from them since Feb. 24 after driving to the city of Montemorelos in Nuevo León state.
Their friend, 53-year-old Dora Alicia Cervantes Saenz, was also with them for the ride.
The two sisters are from the small town of Peñitas, which is a few hundred meters from the Rio Grande. It is not clear where Saenz comes from.
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In these undated photos provided by the Penitas Police Department, from left are sisters Maritza Rios, 47, and Marina Rios, 48, and their friend Dora Saenz, 53. (Penitas Police Department via AP)
Peñitas police chief Roel Bermea told The AP that the women’s families have been in contact with Mexican authorities, who are investigating their disappearance. The state attorney’s office has also been investigating the women’s disappearance, the AP said.
The FBI and US Customs and Border Protection are also reportedly aware of the missing women, but were not reached by Fox News Digital Friday night for comment.
Bermea said the husband of one of the women spoke to her on the phone while the trio traveled to Mexico on Feb. 24, but couldn’t reach her after that conversation and became concerned.
“Since he couldn’t get in touch over that weekend, he came on that Monday and told us what happened,” Bermea said – the Monday in question would have been February 27.
The police chief shared that the women were traveling in a mid-1990s green Chevy Silverado and the city they were traveling to is about three hours from the border.
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Many questions remain about the three women’s disappearances as limited information has been released publicly, a case that stands in stark contrast to the kidnapping of four Americans who traveled to Mexico for plastic surgery last week.
Two of the four were reportedly killed by the Mexican Gulf Cartel after the van they were traveling in was hit multiple times in the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas. Horrific surveillance video from the area showed the Americans being driven from the scene of the shooting in a pickup truck. An innocent Mexican woman was also killed in the shooting.
The two survivors were found Tuesday in a wooden shack near the Gulf Coast following a massive search involving Mexican soldiers and National Guard troops.
On Thursday, the Gulf Cartel apologized for the act of violence against innocents, saying it goes against their rules, and handed over to authorities five members it says were involved in the shooting and kidnapping.
Five Gulf Cartel members the group insists were responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Americans south of the border last week. (Twitter)
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According to The AP, an estimated 112,000 Mexicans are missing nationwide, but the only people who seem to be looking for them are their loved ones.
The outlet noted that Mexico’s lack of manpower, equipment and training doesn’t even allow authorities to identify the tens of thousands of bodies that have been found.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
