The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is offering a reward of up to US$20,000 for information as to the whereabouts of María del Carmen López, a Mexican by birth and U.S. citizen, who was abducted in Colima on February 9.
According to reports on both sides of the border, López was taken from her house in Pueblo Nuevo, a town in the municipality of Villa de Álvarez, located close to the state capital Colima. She recently returned to Mexico together with her husband of nine years, after living for 50 years in the United States.
Relatives of López, who has seven children residing in the United States, said there were initial demands from the kidnappers for money, which stopped after they were told that the family was not wealthy and did not have those kinds of savings.
Family members also told U.S. media outlets that neither Colima or federal authorities have provided any detailed information as to the progress of its investigation. Federal authorities only became involved in the case three weeks after it was first reported to state authorities, the family members said.