Chetumal, Q.R. — UPDATED: Four police officers remain missing after they were ambushed and forcefully removed from their unit. The ambush happened Monday night near the small Mayan community of Luis Echeverría Álvarez in the municipality of Othón P. Blanco.
Police in the southern region of the state activated a Red Code Alert upon learning of the kidnapping. The incident was reported to have occurred around 11:00 p.m. Monday, after police learned of a vehicle in pursuit for which additional police assistance was requested.
While perusing the SUV, the highway was quickly blocked by trucks from which several armed subjects emerged. Police inside the single unit were disarmed and removed from their vehicle.
They were gone by the time help arrived. Using the municipality’s C4 security system, authorities were able to see how the events unfolded.
Authorities have said that the four missing include two municipal and two ministerial police officers. At 12:41 a.m. Tuesday, authorities located a white Jeep Patriot, which they say, is believed to be the vehicle used to transport the four officers.
UPDATE: The four missing police officers were located during the early morning hours of Tuesday in brush. They were found unharmed after coordinated search operations were deployed between the National Guard, the Mexican Navy, the Ministerial Investigation Police and Quintana Roo Police.
Their stolen gear, which included a gun, keys and police radios, were located in a vacant lot Tuesday afternoon. The group who are believed to have ambushed them have since been arrested.
