Thread: Sugar Land High School Teen Killed in Mexico

Sugar Land High School Teen Killed in Mexico

Updated: Tuesday, 04 May 2010, 9:50 PM CDT
Published : Tuesday, 04 May 2010, 3:55 PM CDT

SALLY MACDONALD
Reporter

SUGAR LAND, Texas - Mexico's violence hits close to home for hundreds of Fort Bend I.S.D. students.

They're getting news one of their classmates at Kempner High School in Sugar Land has been beaten to death while traveling in a Mexican border state.

No one seems to know for sure why Elisabeth Mandala, 18, was in Mexico, but according to Houston Police the family had their fears.

HPD spokesman John Cannon says Mandala's mother told police her daughter may have gone to Mexico to learn how to smuggle undocumented immigrants into the United States.

Students say Mandala was a popular senior at Kempner and looking forward to graduating. Last Wednesday, she posted on her Facebook page, "I'm in Mexico. I'll be back Thursday."

"I was just like why would she go to Mexico when she heard about all the bad things going on, but I guess it was real crucial," said Dustin Frederick, a classmate.

Mandala never made it back home to the house she shares with her family in Fort Bend County. On Saturday the woman's mother reported her missing to Houston Police, the same day her body and the bodies of two men carrying false IDs were found beaten in a town near Monterrey.

According to Milenio Television, the bodies were found in a pickup truck with Texas plates. Milenio Television posted a grisly video of the crime scene online. The murders were staged to look like the victims had gotten into an accident with a cargo truck.

The male victims were twice Mandala's age. It's not clear if she knew them.

"We see a lot of kidnappings going on in the northern part of Mexico, oftentimes with really nasty results. Mexico is actually becoming one of the countries with the highest rates of kidnappings," said Dr. Adolfo Santos, a professor at the University of Houston-Downtown.

According to the missing person report, Mandala's mother last saw her daughter on Tuesday, April 27th. She said Mandala rented a car after her personal vehicle was damaged in a car accident.

The mother believed Mandala was meeting up with someone and possibly going to Mexico. She said her daughter had mentioned she wanted to be a coyote, someone who brings undocumented immigrants across the border for money.

The mother also told police she just learned her daughter was an exotic dancer.

A man who answered the family's phone said Mandala's mother did not wish to comment.

"We're not looking toward the fact why she was in Mexico or who she was with. It's the fact we lost her right now. We lost a good student and someone who's a part of everyone's life," said Karla Jimenez, a classmate.

Memories are pouring in on a Facebook page set up in Mandala's honor. Mandala posted last month "fame is looking for me," but it's likely no one thought it would find her like this.

Grief counselors will be at Kempner High School throughout the week.

www.myfoxhouston.com

Darwin Award;