The bodies of 2 Americans who were kidnapped in Mexico have been returned to the U.S.

NPR | By Eyder Peralta

Published March 9, 2023 at 8:20 PM EST

Mexican soldiers are seen preparing for a search mission for the kidnapped U.S. citizens in Matamoros earlier this week. Two of the Americans were killed, and Mexican authorities returned their bodies to the U.S. on Thursday.

MATAMOROS, Mexico — The Mexican authorities returned the bodies of the two Americans killed in the border city of Matamoros.

After autopsies were conducted, security forces escorted the remains of Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown late Thursday evening to American authorities, who then drove them across the bridge to Brownsville, Texas.

Woodard and Brown had been killed after they were caught in the crossfire by unidentified gunmen last Friday. The Associated Press reported that a Mexican woman, 33-year-old Areli Pablo Servando, was also killed, apparently by a stray bullet.

Their two companions, LaTavia Washington McGee and Eric Williams, survived and are recovering in a U.S. hospital.

Earlier in the day, one of the organized crime groups that acts with impunity in Matamoros, left five men in the middle of the street with their hands tied.

In a note, the group apologized for the killings and said these were the men responsible.

But Mexican authorities have said nothing about the note or the men accused by the cartel. So far, only one arrest has been made in relation to the kidnapping.