Danger for Tourists in Mexican Border Towns

Feb. 5, 2004 — -- In the last six months, more than two dozen Americans have been abducted or have vanished along the border in Mexico, up from just three or four reported abductions each year since 2000.

On Friday, two Mississippi men were found dead on a highway near a Mexican border city, one shot in the head.

The U.S. State Department has issued a safety warning for Americans traveling along the border -- its third since August.

Authorities believe that the drug cartels operating on the Mexican side of the border are fighting over power and territory. They say beautiful women walking the streets become the spoils of war, and there's little American authorities can do about it.

Two of those missing young women are Brenda Cisneros, 23, and Yvette Martinez, 27. The last time the women were seen was Sept. 17, 2004. It was Cisneros' birthday, and the best friends had left their homes in Laredo, Texas, to attend a concert on the Mexican side of the border.

Their parents are still waiting for them to come home.

"It's hell," said Martinez's mother, Antonieta Slemaker. "It's very hard, my heart is broken. I need her. I miss her. And I need to know, where is she?"

Martinez's parents are risking their lives by speaking out. The Mexican drug lords do not like the attention. The FBI believes other parents are not coming forward, and some of them may be quietly paying off ransoms.

William Slemaker, Martinez's stepfather, told "Good Morning America" they won't be stopped by fear of retaliation.

"It's been four months. Fear alone is not going to deter us," he said.