Marine Kidnapped in Northern Mexico After Armed Gunmen Storm Family Ranch
The FBI is soliciting the public's help after a U.S. Marine reservist and several members of his family were abducted in Mexico.
Armed men in La Barranca, Tamaulipas, Mexico kidnapped Armando Torres III, his father and his uncle on May 14, the FBI announced.
Reports indicate that Torres crossed into Mexico at the International Port of Entry Bridge at Progresso, Texas. He was visiting his father's ranch in La Barranca, Tamaulipas.
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While there, armed gunmen entered the ranch and took Torres, his father Armando Torres II and his uncle Salvador Torres, the FBI said.
Torres' father and uncle are Mexican citizens, and the three have not been seen or heard from since. Torres of Baytown, Texas, is a corporal in the Marine Individual Ready Reserve.
The state prosecutor's office in Mexico's Tamaulipas state told CNN that neighbors said the apparent kidnapping could be tied to a land dispute involving the Marine's father.
The State Department is aware of reports that a U.S. citizen had been kidnapped in Mexico, an agency official not authorized to speak for full attribution told CNN.
"The U.S. Consulate General in Matamoros is working with Mexican authorities to obtain more information. Due to privacy considerations, we cannot provide further information," the official said.
The kidnapping comes on the heels of the news that 11 people were abducted in broad daylight from a bar in Mexico City's Zona Rosa, according to reports this week.
The abduction took place just off the Paseo de la Reforma, the city's main boulevard, about one and a half blocks from the U.S. Embassy.
Family members of those taken marched from the Interior Department building to the Zocalo, the city's main square, on Thursday morning. They are calling on authorities to do more to find their loved ones, and bring those behind the kidnappings to justice.
