3 women drove into Mexico from Texas and vanished

Associated Press

PEÑITAS, Texas-- Two sisters from Texas and a friend are missing in Mexico after they crossed the border last month to offer clothes at a flea market, U.S. authorities said Friday.

The kidnapping of 4 Americans in Mexico that was caught on video last week got an avalanche of attention and was solved in a matter of days. The fate of the three women, who haven't been heard from in about 2 weeks, has and remains a secret gathered relatively little promotion.

The FBI said Friday it understands that 2 sisters from Peñitas, a small border city in Texas near McAllen, and their buddy have actually gone missing. Peñitas Police Chief Roel Bermea said their families have been in touch with Mexican authorities, who are examining their disappearance.

Beyond that, authorities in the U.S. and Mexico have not stated much about their pursuit of Maritza Trinidad Perez Rios, 47; Marina Perez Rios, 48; and their good friend, Dora Alicia Cervantes Saenz, 53.

The episode stands in plain contrast to the federal government and media frenzy over the abduction of four Americans on a journey to Mexico for cosmetic surgery. They were captured in a drug cartel shootout in the border city of Matamoros, and video revealed them being carried off in a pickup. The 2 survivors were found Tuesday in a wooden shack near the Gulf coast.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the 3 women crossed into Mexico on Feb. 24, a Friday, according to Bermea. Peñitas is just a few hundred feet from the Rio Grande River.

Among the women's spouse spoke with her by phone while she was traveling in Mexico, the authorities chief said, however grew concerned when he couldn't reach her afterward.

"Since he couldn't make contact over that weekend, he came in that Monday and reported it to us," Bermea said. The three women haven't been spoken with since.

Bermea said the women were traveling in a green mid-1990s Chevy Silverado to a flea market in the city of Montemorelos, in Nuevo Leon state. It's about a three-hour drive from the border. Authorities at the state district attorney's workplace stated they have been investigating the females's disappearance considering that Monday.

Today's massive look for the four kidnapped Americans included squads of Mexican soldiers and National Guard soldiers. But for the majority of the 112,000 Mexicans missing out on across the country, the only ones trying to find them are their desperate relatives.

Authorities also do not have training, workforce and devices-- things are so bad that authorities aren't even able to determine tens of countless bodies that have actually been discovered.