Crime

FBI Offers $20,000 Reward After American Woman Kidnapped from Home in Mexico

Maria del Carmen Lopez was last seen on Feb. 9 in Pueblo Nuevo, in the southwestern state of Colima, authorities said

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Published on March 17, 2023 11:38 AM

The FBI is offering a $20,000 reward for information regarding the kidnapping of a 63-year-old U.S. citizen in Mexico.

Maria del Carmen Lopez was last seen on Feb. 9 in Pueblo Nuevo, in the southwestern state of Colima, the FBI's Los Angeles field office said in a news release on Thursday.

Lopez, who is also a Mexican citizen, is 5-foot 2-inches tall and weighs about 160 pounds, the FBI said. She has blonde hair, brown eyes, and permanently tattooed eyeliner, the agency said.

The FBI is working the investigation with assistance from the Mexican Attorney General's Specialized Prosecutor for Organized Crime, according to CNN.

On the day of her disappearance, the Colima Attorney General's office initially opened the case, and prosecutors there are working with other U.S. agencies "seeking to clarify the facts and safeguard the integrity of the victim," per CNN.

The FBI encouraged anyone with information about Lopez's kidnapping to contact its tip line.

The woman's disappearance comes just weeks after four Americans were kidnapped and two were killed in the border city of Matamoros.

The Americans killed in the attack were Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown. The two survivors — Latavia Washington McGee and Eric Williams — were treated in a Texas hospital.

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A Mexican drug cartel later sent a letter apologizing for the deadly kidnapping that killed Woodard and Brown, as well as a local woman, the Associated Press reported.

Shaeed Woodard, Latavia Washington McGee, Eric Williams and Zindell Brown. Facebook (4)

The AP obtained a copy of the letter from a law enforcement source in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, where the kidnappings took place. The letter, which purports to be from the Gulf Cartel, claimed those who carried out the attack have been turned into law enforcement.

"We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline," stated the letter.