Thread: Mexican Pirates Attack US Couple on Falcon Lake

http://www.aolnews.com/surge-desk/artic ... d/19657660

Mexican Pirates Attack US Couple on Falcon Lake; Husband Missing, Feared Dead
Updated: 1 hour 20 minutes ago
Dana Chivvis Contributor
AOL News Surge Desk
(Oct. 1) -- Mexican pirates operating on Falcon Lake, which is shared by the United States and Mexico, on Thursday shot an American tourist who had crossed the border on a Jet Ski.

Tiffany Hartley, 29, said her husband, David Michael Hartley, 30, was shot in the back of the head as they tried to escape an ambush on the lake, The Associated Press reports.

Hartley tried to turn around to save her husband but said she had to continue to retreat when she heard bullets whizzing by. Today, search teams continue to comb the Texas side of the lake for David, who is presumed dead. Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez said he had asked the Mexican consulate to conduct a search on his country's side of the lake as well.

AOL News reported on the Falcon Lake pirate gangs in May after a spat of robberies prompted the Texas Department of Public Safety to issue a bulletin warning Americans to stay in U.S. waters. Authorities believe the pirates are offshoots of Mexican drug gangs operating in the area.

On April 30, five American fishermen crossed the border to explore Guerrero Viejo, a town that was abandoned and flooded when the Rio Grande was dammed to create Falcon Lake in 1953. The Americans' boat was boarded by four men who said they were federal police but were not wearing uniforms.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said the men demanded to know if the fishermen had drugs before making off with $200. They also had several tattoos of the letter "Z," raising suspicions that they were members of the Zetas drug cartel, which controls territory in northern Mexico.
Like the fishermen, the Hartleys had crossed the border Thursday to see Guerrero Viejo. Gonzalez said today that the gunmen chased the couple into American waters, according to the AP. He also said he suspects they returned for Hartley's body or let it sink to the bottom of the lake in the hopes of destroying evidence of his murder.

Falcon Lake, which is approximately 50 miles south of Laredo, Texas, is a water sports and fishing destination, making it a prime target for an unusual brand of piracy. There have been at least five reported attacks on the lake this year, although none of them was deadly.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesman Mike Cox told the AP that the last reported sighting of the pirates was on Aug. 31, when boaters reported seeing gunmen in a small craft with "Game Wardin" spelled out in duct tape on the side of the boat.

I've been to this lake before. It's shared by Mexico and the United States.
My husband has a few relatives who live in Del Rio which abuts Laredo where this lake is and where they are Border Patrol agents, Customs and one is a Sheriff.

The first time we went there, we were shocked while driving the highway going towards Laredo when out of nowhere, the highway just abruptly ends and you have to exit to the right. If you're in the right hand lane you're routed directly into Mexico and if you go left you enter Laredo. Good thing we were in the left lane, otherwise we would have made an unplanned trip into Mexico!

Falcon Lake is below laredo. its not the lake at del rio. thats amistad

Originally Posted by jamesw62

Falcon Lake is below laredo. its not the lake at del rio. thats amistad

You are so right....My husband's family doesn't live in Del Rio like I'd said.
They do live on Lake Falcon but....they live in Zapata.
The first time I went there I was taken aback by the fact that driving to Zapata I could see nothing in front of us, then out of that nothingness, Zapata just appeared like a dry, ugly, desert town oasis. However, the stunning part was down by the lake which is very close by the town. A totally different geography than the town. Lots of elderly Anglo snowbirds with green lawns and lemon trees growing everywhere. Kinda of like a mini Florida. When we went at that time, the lake was almost devoid of water and the OLD Zapata town was emerging from the shallow water.

Related Posts:

US man on jet ski shot in Mexican waters
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-214020.html

TX: Search continues for Falcon Lake victim
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-214151.html

Mexican pirates killing of American tourist creates outrage
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-214232.html

This story has been all over FOX news this morning.

Originally Posted by OneNationUnderGod

This story has been all over FOX news this morning.

This story was on the national news also, however I had to turn it off because I was admonished by my kids and spouse for trying to watch it during our "quiet Sunday dinner" time. so I was unable to watch it. I was interested in what the slant of the coverage was since it was MSM.

Did anyone else catch it?

http://video.foxnews.com/#/v/4358657/qu ... t_id=87937


http://video.foxnews.com/v/4357420/coup ... g-pirates/


http://video.foxnews.com/v/4358488/911- ... -shooting/


http://video.foxnews.com/v/4358495/us-m ... an-waters/