By Adrienne Vogt, Elise Hammond, Leinz Vales and Tori B. Powell, CNN
David Shortell in Mexico City
A Mexican woman was fatally shot during the kidnapping of four Americans in Tamaulipas on Friday, Governor Américo Villarreal said on Tuesday.
The woman, who was not identified, was hit by a stray bullet almost a block and a half away from where the Americans were taken, the governor of Tamaulipas said.
Authorities at first thought the woman was killed in a separate unrelated incident, he added.
From CNN's David Shortell in Mexico City
Officials in Mexico would not confirm Tuesday whether the person detained in relation to the kidnapping of four Americans in Mexico is related to a criminal organization. However, the Gulf Cartel is known to operate in the region, according to Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica.
Barrios would not share the number of people authorities believed to be involved in the kidnapping.
The four Americans who went missing crossed the international bridge into Matamoros, Mexico, at 9:18 a.m. local time on Friday, governor of Tamaulipas, Américo Villarreal, said Tuesday.
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price called for accountability in regard to the four Americans who were kidnapped by armed gunmen in a Mexico border city on Friday, but would not go into details about what that looks like.
"We want to see accountability for the violence that has been inflicted on these Americans that tragically led to the death of two of them," Price said.
Price did not rule out designating drug cartels as terrorist organizations – something that some Republican lawmakers have called for. Price noted that "we are always going to look at every tool."
“When it comes to the drug cartels, we're going to do what is most effective to limit their ability to traffic in their wares," he said at a State Department briefing Tuesday. "This is something that our colleagues at the DEA are extremely focused on. We have laws on the books, we have designated these criminal organizations, these drug trafficking organizations, consistent with the authorities that we as a government have.”
From CNN's David Shortell
United States law enforcement was not involved on the ground in Mexico during the search for missing Americans, the governor of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, Américo Villarreal, said. Tamaulipas is where the kidnapping took place.
Mexican officials displayed a timeline of the search for the Americans, including photos of the cars believed to be used by the kidnappers, before they were found Tuesday morning.
Mexico's Secretary of Security Rosa Icela Rodríguez said authorities in Mexico have been in constant communication with the US ambassador and other US officials since Sunday.
From CNN’s Josh Campbell
The two Americans who authorities say were kidnapped in Mexico and found dead have been identified as Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, a US official familiar with the ongoing investigation tells CNN.
Their bodies will be examined by Mexican authorities before their remains are turned over to the US government, the source said.
The two survivors have been identified as Latavia Washington McGee and Eric Williams, according to the source. The pair was taken to a Texas hospital for treatment and observation.
The Americans’ families have been notified, the official indicated.
The Mexican government said at a press conference that Washington McGee was found uninjured and Williams suffered a bullet wound to the leg.
From CNN’s Abel Alvarado
At least one person has been detained in connection to the death of two American citizens, Tamaulipas Gov. Américo Villarreal said.
The person was identified as a 24-year-old, according to the governor. He was undertaking “surveillance functions of the victims," he added.
The four kidnapped Americans were found in a “wooden house” outside Matamoros, Mexico. Two of them were alive and two were dead, the governor said.
"During the three days after the criminal act, the four people were transferred to various places, including a clinic in order to create confusion and avoid rescue efforts," Villarreal said.
Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica described the steps taken by Mexican law enforcement and investigators after four Americans were kidnapped on Friday.
At a news conference Tuesday, speaking through a translator, Barrios Mojica said the Americans were driving a white minivan when a pickup truck pulled up, and armed men loaded them into the back of the truck.
At that point "protocols were activated" and Mexican authorities started communications with the United States when they noticed the mini van's license place was from the US. Barrios Mojica said the information that they were American citizens wasn't verified right away until US officials ran the license plate.
Barrios Mojica said police were also able to identify the pickup truck. With all of this information, officials started "several searches" with various different agencies, he said.
On Tuesday about 8 a.m. local time, Barrios Mojica said officials found the four Americans — two alive and two dead — at a house outside Matamoros. One of the survivors was shot in the leg, he said.
Barrios Mojica said police detained one person at the house.
From CNN staff
Two of the four Americans who authorities say were kidnapped in Mexico have been found dead, according to the Tamaulipas governor. The two surviving Americans are now in the care of the FBI and have returned to the United States, an official familiar with the investigation tells CNN.
Investigators believe a Mexican cartel likely mistook them for Haitian drug smugglers, a US official said.
Here's what we know so far:
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
The White House said it is still working with Mexican officials to learn more about the deaths of two American citizens who were kidnapped and killed this week.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said senior White House officials were engaged on the matter and President Joe Biden was updated. She said the US was still working with Mexican officials to have “all Americans returned to the United States.”
“We extend our deepest condolences to their families and friends,” Jean-Pierre said. “For the sake of privacy and out of respect to the families, we are going to refrain from further comment about those circumstances at this time.”
She said administration officials were in touch with family members of the Americans kidnapped in Mexico, two of whom are dead, according to Mexican authorities.
Jean-Pierre said US agencies, including the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Drug Enforcement Administration, were working on the situation in coordination with their Mexican counterparts.
"Attacks on US citizens are unacceptable, no matter where or under what circumstances they happen,” she said. “We will continue to work closely with the Mexican government to ensure justice is done in this case.”
She noted previous administration efforts to disrupt transnational crime syndicates, including Mexican drug cartels and human smugglers.
“We remain committed to applying the full weight of our efforts and resources to counter them,” she said. “Right now our immediate concerns are for the safe return of our citizens, the health and well-being of those who survived this attack, and the support which must be rendered to the families of those who need it.”
