A fifth American who was denied entry to Mexico where her four friends were later kidnapped by the notorious Gulf Cartel has said the group told her they’d only be across the border ‘for 15 minutes’.
Cheryl Orange traveled to the southern border with Latavia ‘Tay’ McGee, Eric Williams, Zindell Brown, Shaeed Woodard for her friend’s cosmetic tummy tuck.
But Orange said she was unable to enter Mexico because she lacked the proper identification – and the four carried on to Matamoros where they were caught in gang crossfire before being abducted. Only Williams and McGee survived the ordeal.
Orange told CNN that after she was unable to enter Mexico, the group dropped her off at their hotel and said they ‘return in 15 minutes’.
She spoke of the ordeal as pictures emerged of a stolen Lamborghini that was seized by Mexican police near the wooden shack where survivors Williams and McGee were found along with the bodies of their murdered friends. Police also recovered the stolen ambulance that was used by cartel members to drive the American victims to a local clinic for treatment following the attack.
Cheryl Orange traveled to the southern border with Latavia ‘Tay’ McGee, Eric Williams, Zindell Brown, Shaeed Woodard for her friend’s cosmetic tummy tuck. Orange couldn’t get into Mexico and her friends said they’d return ‘in 15 minutes’
A stolen Lamborghini was seized by police near the shack where the kidnap victims were held
Orange said: ‘When I told her that I didn’t have my ID with me [to enter Mexico], they dropped me off at the hotel and said they would return in 15 minutes.’
‘That’s why I was so worried and in fear, because it didn’t seem right. Fifteen minutes had gone by, they were not there.’
She said: ‘When they dropped me off at the hotel, I had got into the shower, I showered and I laid on the bed, I was exhausted from the long hours, the long ride, so I ended up falling asleep.
‘I woke up and it was already 5pm in the afternoon.’
Orange said she asked hotel staff whether the group had returned or made contact but they hadn’t
‘I called my boyfriend, I called Tay’s brother and I said something is not right and I text my roommate. I said something’s not right. 9 o’clock got here, 12 o’clock got here, midnight and an hour into Saturday morning.
‘At 10.23 it’s literally a few minutes before checkout. I’m like there’s no way, I called the cops immediately.’
Orange described the moment she saw footage which purported to show the kidnapping, in which cartel members force their victims into a white truck.
Orange’s trip came to a sudden halt when she was denied entry because she lacked the proper identification – the four carrying on to Matamoros where they were caught in gang crossfire before being abducted. Only Williams and McGee surviving the ordeal
Orange said: ‘I dropped the phone, my body clenched up, I dropped the phone, my stomach was in knots and I just began praying for the return of them. I didn’t know much about the cartels and I started looking up videos and it was bad. I began to think the worst.’
She added: ‘I want the world to leave us alone and stop being mean. I want them to have a heart because everyone has a past. What happened to her wasn’t right. She didn’t deserve it, she’s a beautiful person. When I spoke to Latavia yesterday, she said thank you. She told me thank you.’
The interview came before details pictures surfaced this morning of a stolen Lamborghini seized by police near the shack where the cartel kept Williams and McGee along with their murdered friend. ABC reported the vehicle was among five vehicles that were seized.
The interview with Orange comes after footage obtained by the NCbeat appear to show McGee, Williams, Brown, Woodard and Orange happily singing as they traveled to the southern border.
Orange later stressed to authorities that the group had been at the southern tip of Texas for the cosmetic procedure as lengthy rap sheets emerged of the four members who were hauled into a truck and kidnapped for four days by Mexican crime and drug syndicate the Gulf Cartel.
A case report obtained by NewsNation states that Orange ‘appeared worried and nervous’ and ‘an odor of marijuana’ had been ’emitting from her person.’
The report from the Brownsville Police Department also stated that: ‘Cheryl did not appear to know the details of Latavia’s surgery, but did state that she believed the surgery to be a gluteal augmentation.’
These are the current travel advisories for Mexico from the US government. Only two states – Yucatan and Campeche – are completely free of advisories
The report continued: ‘Cheryl stated that she would not be surprised if her friends got arrested because they are known to party and use narcotics.’
The five friends had driven a rented minivan from South Carolina on Thursday to the southern tip of Texas, according to a police report based on Orange’s account. Four of them left Friday morning around 8:00am to go to Mexico.
On the drive south, footage uploaded to Facebook stories show the five friends singing and joking with one another revealing a fifth passenger, now identified as Orange, sleeping in the back.
In one video a person named ‘Tay,’ a nickname of McGee’s, can be heard speaking to another passenger saying ‘We’re on the way to Mexico b****.’
The video then pans to the other passengers in the car including Orange who can be seen laying next to the passenger filming that NCbeat have identified as Williams.
‘Mexico here we come,’ Williams is heard saying before laughing and talking about the group pulling into a gas station.
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