U.S. authorities confirmed three women are missing after traveling from Texas to Mexico last month to sell clothes at a flea market.
There has been little attention to the case of the missing woman compared to the abduction of four Americans in Mexico that was captured on video last week. That case garnered national attention, which helped resolve the case within days. However, unfortunately, that’s not the same for the missing women, who haven’t been heard from in about two weeks.
The FBI said Friday it is aware that the missing women, two sisters from Peñitas and their friend, have gone missing, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported
Peñitas Police Chief Roel Bermea said their families are in contact with Mexican authorities, who are also helping investigate their disappearance.
Still, little information has been provided on how officials in the U.S. and Mexico pursue the disappearance of Maritza Trinidad Perez Rios, 47; Marina Perez Rios, 48; and their friend, Dora Alicia Cervantes Saenz, 53.
The three women crossed into Mexico on Feb. 24, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The husband of one of the women talked to her by phone while she was traveling in Mexico but grew concerned when he could no longer reach her.
“Since he couldn’t make contact over that weekend, he came in Monday and reported it to us,” Bermea said. The three women haven’t been heard from since.
The women were traveling in a green mid-1990s Chevy Silverado to a flea market in the city of Montemorelos, in Nuevo Leon state.
Officials at the state prosecutor’s office said they have been investigating the women’s disappearance since Monday.
Roughly 112,000 Mexicans are missing across the nation. Although last week’s abduction of the four Americans launched a massive search by Mexican soldiers and National Guard troops, usually it’s left to relatives to search for their loved one.
Authorities often lack the manpower, equipment, and training needed. Authorities say things have gotten so bad that they can’t identify tens of thousands of bodies that have been found.
