Posted on 04/11/2008 9:40:59 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
The FBI is investigating the kidnapping of a 17-year-old former Alexander High School student that may have turned fatal, officials confirmed Thursday.
German Antonio Villarreal Muñoz was forced into a sport utility vehicle at Juega Juega, a popular casino in Nuevo Laredo, the night of March 8. His father reported the kidnapping to Mexican authorities the following morning, but nothing was said in public until March 12, when the teen's mother issued a statement to Laredo media, pleading for information about her son.
Nearly a month later, hopes for a happy ending are dimming.
"Foul play is suspected," said Norm Townsend, the FBI's supervisory senior resident agent in Laredo. He declined to give details, noting the investigation is still open.
Since Maria Elena Muñoz Treviño, Villarreal's mother, made her plea, with no mention of kidnapping, new information has surfaced about her son.
Mexican police records indicate that he and two other teens were arrested the morning of Nov. 7 last year, charged with robbing a gasoline station at gunpoint after they were identified by the gas station attendants. Villarreal was taken to the city's juvenile detention facility, where he was held for nine days.
He was released on Nov. 15. That night, he was involved in a one-car wreck that killed a 19-year-old girl, Dianalicia Villarreal Mendoza of Laredo. Sources have said evidence shows Villarreal was driving, but the police report indicates the driver was unknown and Villarreal was not charged. Mexican federal authorities are investigating the accident.
None of that matters to Villarreal's family, who say the robbery charges were false. They say he was released because there was no evidence to keep him in custody and that the fatal accident left him injured and depressed.
The kidnapping was the latest blow, family members said Thursday.
"It's a nightmare for us," said Muñoz Treviño, Villarreal's mother. "No one expects this. We have no problems with anybody. My house was always open. Now, I have to keep it closed."
According to the police report filed by his father, Villarreal was at the casino with his older brother Luis Angel when he was taken. The brother saw armed, tall, heavy men force Villarreal into a sport utility vehicle outside the casino. Security cameras recorded the kidnapping, Mexican authorities said.
The family hasn't heard from Villarreal since his disappearance.
Muñoz Treviño said the family misses him terribly.
"He was a happy person," she said. "He was very loving and caring with both his mother and father."
Villarreal has had more than his share of sorrow, losing his brother Edgar in a car accident in July 2007.
His mother said Villarreal was distraught by Edgar's death, but also was trying to help his older brother Roberto cope with the loss.
Because he was so affected by the accident, the family said they decided to withdraw Villarreal from Alexander High School, where he had started to perform poorly due to a lack of concentration.
The family opted for home schooling while he recovered from the death of his brother.
Villarreal enjoyed soccer and basketball, family said, and while he liked to visit Nuevo Laredo with friends, the visits became less frequent after Edgar died. The night he was kidnapped, Villarreal had gone to a movie with his brother Luis Angel and Luis Angel's girlfriend before going to the casino.
Villarreal was expected to attend a Christian school in San Antonio next year, Muñoz Treviño said.
Mexican authorities said they are cooperating with U.S. authorities on the case. They say FBI agents have talked to the father and brother of the 19-year-old killed in the November car accident, but that it didn't further the case. FBI officials had no comment, declining to give any details of their investigation.
In the meantime, Villarreal's mother is once again asking anyone with information regarding the kidnapping to come forward without fear because everything would be kept confidential. "We have faith in God that we will see him again," Muñoz Treviño said.
To provide information, call the FBI's Laredo field office at 723-4021 or Villarreal's family at 231-4712.
(Nick Georgiou may be reached at 728-2582 or by e-mail at nickg@lmtonline.com)
Was this kid being kidnapped for ransom?
Los dos Laredos Ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
Doesn’t look like it.
"Foul play is suspected," said Norm Townsend, the FBI's supervisory senior resident agent in Laredo.
No sh!t, Sherlock? Apparently Norm hasn't read this news story yet.
Given his history, it could be revenge.
I think you’re right about revenge. He has gone to his reward.
The question is, who would be the prime suspect.
The family of the girl he killed?
Whatever gang protects the gas station he robbed?
Some enemy he made while locked up?
Someone he made mad in a more recent activity? (he’s a 17 year old high school dropout who can afford to go to a Casino).
I don’t know about you, but if I’d spent 3 months in a Mexican lockup, I’d stay north of the border in the future.
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