The FBI is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the whereabouts of an American woman who was kidnapped in the western Mexican state of Colima.
María del Carmen López, 63, has been missing since February 9 when she was forcibly taken from her home in the Colima municipality of Pueblo Nuevo, the local FBI office in Los Angeles announced Thursday.
Zonia López, one of the seven children of the missing woman, told NBC4 that neighbors witnessed the moment she was abducted by several individuals who had their faces covered.
“They got out of the truck, they had hoods on their heads and they exchanged a few words,” he said. “They said they heard my mother say and plead that she was not going to go with them.”
US citizen María del Carmen López was kidnapped from her home in Colima, Mexico, on February 9, according to the FBI.
The captors, said Zonia López, sent a video in which her mother appears begging her loved ones to pay a ransom to ensure her freedom.
DailyMail.com has been unable to confirm the amount the kidnappers are seeking and has contacted Zonia López for comment.
He took to Facebook to share a poster the FBI posted with three images of his mother and urged the public to provide information that would help authorities locate her.
His mother, who was born in Mexico, regularly traveled between Los Angeles and Colima. Her husband was attending a medical appointment in Los Angeles when she was kidnapped.
We need our mother back! We need your help!’ wrote Zonia Lopez. We need our mother back.
María del Carmen López was kidnapped by multiple people on February 9 in the city of Pueblo Nuevo, in western Mexico. The 63-year-old has dual US and Mexican citizenship and regularly commuted between Los Angeles and Pueblo Nuevo.
News of the kidnapping of María del Carmen López comes as the US State Department warned Americans not to travel to Mexico for spring break.
“U.S. citizens should exercise extra caution in the downtown areas of popular spring break spots, including Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum, especially after dark,” the warning read.
The State Department also warned that US citizens “have become seriously ill or have died in Mexico after taking synthetic drugs or adulterated prescription pills.”
Latavia McGee and Eric James were rescued by security forces Tuesday morning.
Shaheed Woodard and Zindell Brown, two of the Americans kidnapped in Mexico, were found dead on Tuesday.
Sisters Marina Pérez (left) and Maritza Pérez (right), both from Peñitas, Texas, were kidnapped with their friend Alicia Cervantes in the northeastern Mexican border town of Montemorelos on February 24. They crossed into Mexico to sell clothes at a flea market three hours away. from the border
Dora Cervantes disappeared with two friends in Nuevo León, Mexico, on February 24.
Four Americans were kidnapped on March 3 by members of the Gulf Cartel who allegedly mistook them for Haitian smugglers in the northeastern Mexican border city of Matamoros.
Latavia McGee, who traveled there for liposuction, and Eric James were rescued from hiding four days later. McGee’s cousin Shaeed Woodward and Zindell Brown were found dead inside the property.
Texan sisters Maritza Pérez, 47, and Marina Pérez, 48, both from Peñitas, and their friend Dora Cervantes, 53, disappeared after crossing the border to sell clothes at a flea market in Montemorelos, Nuevo León, on February 24.
María Ramírez told KRGV that she has spoken with the authorities in Mexico and hopes that they will not stop looking for her mother, Marina Pérez, her aunt and her friend.
“I hope they don’t give up on my mom and my aunt (aunt) and Dora because we are waiting for them to come home,” he said.
