Daughter almost called FoxNews today!

[SassyLady]

Whew ..... what a day!!! So, after talking with the local law enforcement, the FBI (several times) and the US Consulate in Mexico (several times) my daughter was on the verge of calling FoxNews to get word out and make this very public.

Last night a family friend, Paco, his wife and three children (twins age 7, and youngest age 3) were on their way to visit family in Mexico. My son-in-law got a call around midnight saying they had been kidnapped and needed money (they were in the Culiacan area). My SIL didn't have his phone on so didn't get the message. Paco then called my SIL's brother and got through and said that they were pulled over, forced at gunpoint to get out of their car and he was marched out into the desert and said they wanted money, they were going to kill him .......and then the call was lost. All calls from that point went to his voicemail.

That's when all hell busted loose .... everyone got up and starting making phone calls.....to his family, to his wife's family, to the police in the towns along the way because they just had an approximate location where they might be based upon their last checkin.......and it wasn't until 10:00 this morning before we heard from anyone again. Everyone was alive and on a bus headed back to the US.

This man has been like a brother to my daughter for the last fifteen years. She is the godmother to the twins and she was so freaked out today not knowing what happened to them. She spent most of the morning getting every agency she knows to do something to find this family and get them home safe. She said that if they hadn't heard something within a 12 hour window she was going to start calling the news agencies, starting with Fox.

After almost 24 hours of ordeal, the family all are safe at home now. I'm not sure how they got from the desert into town after the robbers drove off....I will get the entire story tomorrow. My SIL had to make a 10 hour round trip part way into Mexico to get them and bring them home. Somehow they were put on a bus that got them to Obregon and then one of SIL's friends picked them up and took them to Hermosillo and that's were SIL picked them up.


Imagine being pulled over, threatened with death in front of your wife and children, then robbed and left in the desert in the middle of the night. This was just outside of Culiacan....everyone thinks the robbers and police are in cahoots because when Paco talked to the police there they basically told him .... "everyone knows you don't drive through here after dark".

My daughter said the FBI told her that they couldn't do anything until a file had been opened on them so she asked them to open a file. The Consulate now has a file open also....we'll have to wait and see what, if anything, is done.

[darin]

Holy crap....

[namvet]

that is a war zone now. glad it worked out

[Binky]

Wow, I can't even imagine what that would be like.

[namvet]

Osamaboma claims he's going to sue AZ over this immigration bill. maybe he should hop in his limo and take drive down thru there. with white flags flyin'.

[Binky]

Osamaboma claims he's going to sue AZ over this immigration bill. maybe he should hop in his limo and take drive down thru there. with white flags flyin'.

Now there's a thought.....

[namvet]

Now there's a thought.....

there's a very large area on the AZ side of the border they're trying to shut down. its full a gun toting killers. they're trying to keep everyone out. where doe's this end??? in Jul maybe when the bill goes into effect. but for now Osama has surrendered US terrority to these killers.

[DragonStryk72]

there's a very large area on the AZ side of the border they're trying to shut down. its full a gun toting killers. they're trying to keep everyone out. where doe's this end??? in Jul maybe when the bill goes into effect. but for now Osama has surrendered US terrority to these killers.

Death of the Obama presidency will be the moment that AZ takes the action required to get them out.

[avatar4321]

that is a war zone now. glad it worked out

It is a war zone. But that's not the only place like that. My friend lives in a neighborhood in Philly that is turning into a war zone. Cops have told him and his family to get firearm permits and start carrying. It's insane.

[namvet]

I suspect this country is now arming itself to the teeth

[SassyLady]

UPDATE:

The family is scared to stay in their own house because the robbers said they now know where they live and have people in Tucson that will come and kill them if they do anything.

OK....here's what we know as of now.

The family was traveling south and they go through various toll booths and checkpoints. After going through one and just a few miles away from their hotel they were pulled over by a car with lights like a police car. A man in a uniform got out and approached with a machine gun and said that Paco was speeding.....which we know is a lie because we can't get him to even drive the speed limit ... he reminds me of Cheech/Chong ....anyway, the cop??? made him move over and got in the driver's seat and drove them off the road into the desert with two other guys with machines guns in the car following them.

When they got to the desert they marched him out there and demanded money...they wanted $8000. He said they could have what he and his wife had on them....but that they didn't have "money". They put him back in the car and then drove him to a local motel, parked the car in the garage and took the whole family inside. They put the wife and kids in one room and then took him into another room....both had armed guards.

Then there was a whole group of people who unloaded the car and brought everything inside and they took everything apart. They made him remove all his clothes and searched him thoroughly.

He said the robbers were all arguing with each other about what they were going to do now...because they had no money. They told him that it cost them $6500 to set up this sting and now they were out that money and they had to get it back somehow. Paco said the group were arguing amongst themselves about what to do and he was very nervous that they were going to kill him .... he's standing there naked while they are arguing.

They finally bring the family together and Paco's wife said .... take our car, take everything .... sell it.....they had packed for her to stay with her family for the entire summer so they had a lot of stuff.

So the robbers then call a taxi to come to the hotel and get the family and take them to the bus stop .... gives them $100 and tells them to go home. They go to the bus stop and buy a ticket to get them as far north as possible...

On the bus heading north they go through a "checkpoint" with cops and Paco tries to tell them what happened and they just "yeah, yeah, we don't believe you, get back on bus".

Sooooooooooooooo........the long and short of the story is that Paco believes everyone is in on it .... the guys at the toll booth saw him come through, called ahead and set the whole thing up thinking they had money because their car was new and had Arizona plates. He thinks the cops, the hotel, the taxi company .... everyone down there is part of the "sting".

So they are home and have nothing....but the clothes on their back. They spent the night at my daughter's because they are terrified to go home. My daughter and her family took them shopping for essentials today and my SIL's family has a place for them to stay for the next few days. They will be moving this week.......but their terror is still 10,000%.....and they are so afraid to tell the police...even the police in AZ (because they are afraid they will investigate and then assassins will be sent).

My daughter is getting as many details as she can .... she has lots of friends on the police force in Tucson and she is so pissed that I doubt this is over by a long shot. I asked her if she plans to still contact any of the news agencies.....she wants to make sure the family is tucked away before she does anything like that.

I told her she needs to find a good investigative reporter and then them run with it.

Anyway....we used to go to Mexico every year for a week's vacation....We didn't go last year .... and I doubt we will for a very long time. My daughter and her inlaws go down there allllllllll the time and I used to be scared, now I am terrified.

[namvet]

UPDATE:

The family is scared to stay in their own house because the robbers said they now know where they live and have people in Tucson that will come and kill them if they do anything.

OK....here's what we know as of now.

The family was traveling south and they go through various toll booths and checkpoints. After going through one and just a few miles away from their hotel they were pulled over by a car with lights like a police car. A man in a uniform got out and approached with a machine gun and said that Paco was speeding.....which we know is a lie because we can't get him to even drive the speed limit ... he reminds me of Cheech/Chong ....anyway, the cop??? made him move over and got in the driver's seat and drove them off the road into the desert with two other guys with machines guns in the car following them.

When they got to the desert they marched him out there and demanded money...they wanted $8000. He said they could have what he and his wife had on them....but that they didn't have "money". They put him back in the car and then drove him to a local motel, parked the car in the garage and took the whole family inside. They put the wife and kids in one room and then took him into another room....both had armed guards.

Then there was a whole group of people who unloaded the car and brought everything inside and they took everything apart. They made him remove all his clothes and searched him thoroughly.

He said the robbers were all arguing with each other about what they were going to do now...because they had no money. They told him that it cost them $6500 to set up this sting and now they were out that money and they had to get it back somehow. Paco said the group were arguing amongst themselves about what to do and he was very nervous that they were going to kill him .... he's standing there naked while they are arguing.

They finally bring the family together and Paco's wife said .... take our car, take everything .... sell it.....they had packed for her to stay with her family for the entire summer so they had a lot of stuff.

So the robbers then call a taxi to come to the hotel and get the family and take them to the bus stop .... gives them $100 and tells them to go home. They go to the bus stop and buy a ticket to get them as far north as possible...

On the bus heading north they go through a "checkpoint" with cops and Paco tries to tell them what happened and they just "yeah, yeah, we don't believe you, get back on bus".

Sooooooooooooooo........the long and short of the story is that Paco believes everyone is in on it .... the guys at the toll booth saw him come through, called ahead and set the whole thing up thinking they had money because their car was new and had Arizona plates. He thinks the cops, the hotel, the taxi company .... everyone down there is part of the "sting".

So they are home and have nothing....but the clothes on their back. They spent the night at my daughter's because they are terrified to go home. My daughter and her family took them shopping for essentials today and my SIL's family has a place for them to stay for the next few days. They will be moving this week.......but their terror is still 10,000%.....and they are so afraid to tell the police...even the police in AZ (because they are afraid they will investigate and then assassins will be sent).

My daughter is getting as many details as she can .... she has lots of friends on the police force in Tucson and she is so pissed that I doubt this is over by a long shot. I asked her if she plans to still contact any of the news agencies.....she wants to make sure the family is tucked away before she does anything like that.

I told her she needs to find a good investigative reporter and then them run with it.

Anyway....we used to go to Mexico every year for a week's vacation....We didn't go last year .... and I doubt we will for a very long time. My daughter and her inlaws go down there allllllllll the time and I used to be scared, now I am terrified.

you mean to tell me the FBI never responded ?????

[SassyLady]

you mean to tell me the FBI never responded ?????

They haven't said anything to my daughter ... don't know if they are working on the case or not.

My daughter will definitely be following up.

[Gaffer]

They were told they would be targeted if they said anything to keep them quiet and stop any investigation. And it does sound like everyone down there was involved in the robbery. So its a big organization, probably drug cartel. They are lucky to be alive. Those gangs don't usually let people go. Definitely try to get the FBI involved and any Tucson police you can.

People need to start boycotting mexico. No vacations there or any dealings with them. It's a country run by criminals.

[SassyLady]

They were told they would be targeted if they said anything to keep them quiet and stop any investigation. And it does sound like everyone down there was involved in the robbery. So its a big organization, probably drug cartel. They are lucky to be alive. Those gangs don't usually let people go. Definitely try to get the FBI involved and any Tucson police you can.

People need to start boycotting mexico. No vacations there or any dealings with them. It's a country run by criminals.

My daughter and her inlaws have always told me that it was just the druggies fighting and killing each other but I think this has really opened their eyes.....because they DO have money and are prime targets....I have always had a hard time when they go down there....they were just down in Rocky Point last weekend ... they go to Hermosillo and Obregon and San Juan all the time ..... now I am going to be really freaked out if they keep going.