A spring break trip to Mexico turned into a nightmare for three young Americans who vanished without a trace. Their mysterious disappearance and subsequent arrest have captured international attention. This article delves into the full story behind their journey, the circumstances of their arrest, and the broader implications of such incidents.
In 1972, three American friends, Mike Cook Mace, Stanley, and Paul Smith, embarked on a sea voyage from California, USA, specifically from California, heading to the west coast of Mexico, particularly to the coastal city of Mazatlán. The purpose of the trip was simply for fun and adventure. At that time, there was no strict border enforcement, especially not maritime borders, and even via land crossings, Americans could enter and exit Mexico without a passport, which made things easier by sea, despite the presence of coast guards and anti-drug smuggling patrols. The three friends managed to cover this distance without encountering any patrols or interdiction from any authority. When they arrived at the coast of Mazatlán, Mexico, their boat's engine broke down. The boat had been bought cheaply because it was dilapidated, and the engine hadn't completely broken down but was working intermittently, indicating its nearing end. Their original intention was to continue their journey to southern Mexico and perhaps beyond, spending the entire summer on a fun sea adventure and exploring new places. The engine breakdown disrupted their plans, and they began to think of a solution.
The Search for a Solution to Money Problems and Buying a Large Quantity of Marijuana
They had only about "$300 left, an insufficient amount to fix the engine", and even if it were fixed, they wouldn't have enough budget to continue their journey. They thought of a way to earn some money. They used marijuana, so they bought some from a local taxi driver in the city who offered it to them. They noticed that the price of marijuana in Mexico was very cheap compared to the United States, perhaps ten times cheaper. An idea occurred to them: why not buy some marijuana with their remaining money and return to America to sell it there? After selling it, they would fix their boat and continue their trip. They went looking for the same taxi driver, and when they found him, they asked him to buy a decent amount of marijuana or to take them to someone who had a good quantity they could buy. The taxi driver agreed and took them in his car through the streets until they left the town and started heading onto a rough mountain road, completely away from the city and people, and they became alone in the place. The three friends began to feel nervous, fearing that the taxi driver had become greedy for their money and was leading them into a trap or an ambush with people hidden among the mountains.
The Surprise of the Enormous Quantity of Marijuana and the Skill of Hiding It in Surfboards
After driving on the mountain road for a while, the taxi driver stopped and asked them to get out. The three got out apprehensively, expecting a sudden attack, but after a few minutes, they saw a single man walking towards them with a donkey. The man was wearing clothes similar to those of farmers, and the donkey was loaded with large quantities of marijuana. The three friends couldn't believe the quantity they saw in front of them, and they realized that these people expected them to buy all of this quantity, while they only had $300. There was a clear misunderstanding between the taxi driver and the friends, perhaps because the taxi driver was not proficient in English, which made him think they wanted a very large quantity. The three friends took out $300 and said that was all they had. The taxi driver and the farmer began to argue, and it was clear that they expected more money, and the argument was difficult due to the language barrier. In the end, the friends explained that this was all they had, and they emptied their pockets to prove it. After the argument, the farmer agreed to take the $300 and gave them all the marijuana he had, which was "six full bags of marijuana, each of them carrying two bags".
When they asked the taxi driver to take them back, he was still angry, most likely because he expected a good tip, but they had no money left. The taxi driver dropped them off at the entrance of the town or city and refused to take them back to the coast or port where their boat was, gesturing to the bags of marijuana they were carrying, as if to say that he could not drive them through the city carrying these bags, fearing that the police would stop them and he would get involved, especially since they were broke. They got out at the outskirts of the town and walked to the coast or port. They were walking down the street, each carrying two bags, and suddenly they saw a police officer standing on the street corner ahead of them, about 20 meters away. They stopped and conferred. The bags were open at the top, and if the officer approached, he could clearly see the marijuana. Their appearance was distinct compared to the locals, being white and foreign, which would draw more attention to them. Mike, who could be considered their leader, said that the police officer was watching them, and if they changed direction, they might increase his suspicion and he would follow them. He suggested that they continue walking in the same direction and pass by him as if nothing had happened. The other two hesitated, but they finally agreed, and they had to make a quick decision to avoid arousing suspicion. Indeed, the three continued on their way and passed by the police officer, even greeting him and passing him without being stopped. "They did not understand how they survived this situation, as they thought it was impossible for the police officer not to stop them, but they somehow survived".
The Elaborate Smuggling Plan and the Journey into the Unknown
After reaching their boat, they opened the bags of marijuana and began cleaning it, getting rid of excess material and seeds. They estimated that the net quantity was about"10 kilograms". This was a huge quantity of marijuana, and they had to hide it before returning to America. Although they weren't stopped on their way from America to Mexico, coast guard patrols were widespread and could stop them at any moment. They thought of a place to hide the marijuana and remembered hearing about smuggling marijuana inside surfboards. They themselves were surfers and had boards, maintenance tools, and experience with them. They opened one of the boards, cut off the top part with a knife, removed the foam from inside, and then stuffed the marijuana in its place. They used some glue and sanding tools to restore the board to its original shape, even better, so that no one from the outside could suspect it. They were very proud of the result they achieved.
After hiding the marijuana, it was time to return. Their initial plan was to return in their dilapidated boat, but when they tried to start the engine, it didn't work. They kept trying, but it worked for a few minutes and then stopped, indicating that it was completely finished. Even if it worked for a short time, going out to sea with it would be a deadly risk. The friends found themselves in a predicament, so they got out of their boat and started looking for anyone who could help them.
Meeting the Marijuana Smugglers and the Dangerous Decision
Then, they met two men: Frank Sierra and his brother Dan Sierra. The brothers were also Americans. When they met on the coast, they got to know each other and chatted. The three friends told them that their boat engine had broken down and they were stranded. The brothers said they had a boat and were returning to America, and invited them to join them and help them with the boat. The three friends immediately agreed. The brothers asked them to pack their things and come to their boat the next morning to set off. The three friends were happy because they had found a way to return to America, and they would take the surfboard containing the marijuana with them and leave their boat. After selling the marijuana in America, they would find a way to return to their boat and fix it; in fact, selling this amount of marijuana would mean they wouldn't need this boat again, they could even buy a much better boat. The three friends thought they were the ones hiding a secret from the brothers, but they did not know that the brothers were hiding a greater and more dangerous secret.
The Discovery of the Big Secret and the Journey to a Mexican Prison
The next morning, the three friends went to the brothers' boat, and there they met and exchanged conversations and laughs. Frank, the older brother, gave them some marijuana, and they started smoking together. The three friends felt comfortable with the brothers and thought they were adventurers like themselves, although the brothers were older than them. The brothers laughed to themselves as they watched the friends use marijuana, as the three friends did not know that the brothers were actually major marijuana smugglers, and that the boat they were on contained a huge quantity of marijuana, amounting to "1000 kilograms (a full ton)". The brothers had come to Mexico to smuggle this quantity, and had bought it for $3,000, and were expected to earn 10 times that amount when selling it in America, meaning about $300,000. The value of this amount at that time was higher, and with inflation today, it could reach about two million dollars.
When the brothers saw the three friends enjoying themselves and using marijuana with them, they confessed. They told them that they were smuggling a full ton of marijuana, and needed their help first in driving the boat, and then, upon arriving in America, they needed them to transport the quantity to warehouses. The marijuana was packed in wrapped bags resembling cubes and distributed throughout the boat. The three friends were shocked when they heard that there was a full ton of marijuana on the boat, after they had thought their 10 kilograms were huge. The first thing they thought of was the high risk. If the Mexican or American coast guard caught them, the punishment would be severe, especially with this huge quantity, as they would be treated as major drug traffickers. In Mexico alone, the penalty for marijuana smuggling reaches 25 years, and many American smugglers were arrested and imprisoned in Mexican prisons during that period. "This is what first came to the minds of the three friends: it would be a disaster if they were caught." But Frank, the older brother, offered each of them $10,000 for their help. The three friends looked at each other, and without hesitation, they agreed, forgetting any risk. $10,000 each was a respectable amount.
The Sudden Sinking of the Boat and Surviving with Marijuana Bags
The five set off together in the boat, returning to America. The journey was long and would take more than a week at sea, especially if they wanted to take safe routes away from coast guard strongholds. Days passed, and things were going well, with the boat cutting its way towards America. On approximately the seventh day, disaster struck. On the night of that day, everyone was asleep except Paul Smith, who was at the helm. The night was calm, everything was fine, and they were making their way as they did every night. Suddenly, without warning, there was a violent collision. The four sleeping people were thrown from their places, as were the bags of marijuana, and everything turned into chaos in seconds. Water began to pour into the boat, which was sinking rapidly. It seems the boat hit a rock or something that was in the water. Each of the five struggled to save themselves because the water rose at a crazy speed until it reached their necks. All five managed to get out of the boat before it completely sank, but they were stranded in the middle of the sea.
They struggled with the waves for a while, surrounded by darkness, unable to see anything. They tried to stay afloat with the waves, as the waves were definitely heading towards the coast. During their struggle in the water, they lost track of time; perhaps an hour or two passed in this state. But finally, they heard the sound of waves hitting what seemed like a shore in front of them. They didn't know if it was a sandy beach or rocks that would break them, and they couldn't see anything in the pitch black as they were tossed about by the waves. Luckily for them, the shore was a beach. From extreme fatigue and exhaustion, they fell asleep on the sand as soon as they reached the shore. "Their situation was as miserable as possible". They didn't wake up until after sunrise the next day. They woke up completely exhausted, barely able to move, but what they saw in front of them shocked them. They were not the only ones carried to shore by the waves. All the items that were on the boat were carried by the waves and thrown onto the same beach, including, of course, the kilograms of marijuana that were on the boat. The scene was insane: dozens, even hundreds of full bags of marijuana lying along the beach.
The Police Appear and Falling into the Mexican Trap
The five young men were shocked by the scene. If anyone, fishermen, or locals came to the beach, the police would arrive immediately, and there was a high probability that they would be arrested. Quickly, they began to run along the beach, collecting the bags. Some might wonder why they didn't flee and leave the marijuana. The answer is that if someone found this quantity of marijuana on the beach, they would immediately contact the police, and the police would most likely conduct a search in the area. And being white-skinned foreigners in ragged condition, their appearance would be distinctive and easy to find, and they would be the first suspects. They tried to collect the bags as quickly as possible and immediately began digging a hole to bury them underground. They were digging with their hands because they had no tools. They hadn't dug a large hole yet when they saw some villagers strolling on the beach. Quickly, they buried what they could in the hole they had dug, which was very shallow, a small hole. Three of them continued to bury the bags, while the other two, Frank and Mike, went to the villagers to greet them and engage them in conversation so that their friends could bury the bags. Frank knew some broken Spanish, so he spoke with the three villagers. The three who were burying the bags covered the hole with some sand and tree branches because they had no time, and the bags were almost at the edge of the hole, meaning anyone passing by the hole would easily see them. There were probably other bags that they could not collect as well.
Frank, with his broken Spanish, managed to ask the villagers for help to get them to their village or the nearest town, explaining that their boat had sunk. The villagers had a small truck, so they accepted their request, and the five got into the back of the truck. The villagers told them that the nearest town was about 50 kilometers away. After the car started moving on a road through the forest, the five began to feel relieved, believing that they had escaped the situation, and that no one would find the pile of marijuana bags until after they had left the area. The truck continued to drive for a distance, and suddenly it stopped. Everyone wondered what was happening, and they heard the sound of a car approaching from the same road from the opposite direction, coming towards their truck, and the car was honking and its driver waving, coming towards them at high speed. It was then that the young men realized something was wrong, and that they had most likely not escaped. This car stopped directly in front of their truck, and several armed police officers got out of it and pointed their weapons at them. "The five young men had no choice but to raise their hands and surrender". The officers realized from that moment that the fate awaiting them in this country would be very bad.
The Brutality of Mexican Prisons and Their Horrific Reality
The police immediately took them in their car to the station, where they were placed in custody, in a police cell. It wasn't long before the police entered and pulled them out one by one to meet the officer in charge. In the interrogation room, they sat in front of the officer in charge and were given papers to sign. It seemed these papers were a confession of guilt, and they were written in Spanish, a language none of them could read. Naturally, their initial reaction would be to refuse, but they didn't realize they weren't in America. As soon as one of them hesitated or tried to speak, they would grab him, assault him, yell at him, and even point their weapons at his head. It wasn't an option, so "all five signed the confession under duress". As each of them signed, he knew this was the end, and that they were now at their mercy.
Immediately after that, the police took them to a nearby prison. The prison looked tough, not because it was fortified with the latest technologies and security systems, but on the contrary, it was a backward prison, and this backwardness is what made it tough and dangerous, due to the lack of order and security within it. Many Americans imprisoned in Mexican prisons experience the worst things imaginable. In other words, prisons in Mexico are a place no one ever wants to enter. The prison they were placed in was literally a jungle; they throw you into the yard and close the door behind you, and you choose your cell and manage your affairs inside. The place was crowded, and the number of prisoners in it exceeded its capacity. When you are new and arrive at the prison, all the prisoners surround you and stare at you, and you will be lucky if no one lays a hand on you or harms you. Most of them are drug addicts, and most of them have ties to gangs and criminal activities. A truly awful place. Luckily for these young men, there were five of them, meaning they were a group difficult for anyone to pick on, but their feelings remained among these people who did not speak their language.
Planning the Great Prison Escape
The five found a narrow cell or room for themselves and sat in it. The first night was the hardest for them. They didn't know if they would be able to survive in this place, nor did they know how long they might spend there. They realized that the coming period would be one of the hardest of their lives. Despite their feelings of frustration and the depressing atmosphere they were in, the five immediately began discussing the next step they could take. Immediately, the first idea put forward was to try to escape from this place. It's true that this prison was tough, but at the same time, it was very chaotic and had no system, and they would certainly be able to find security loopholes in it.
From the next morning, they began exploring the prison and looking for a way to escape. The first thing they noticed was that the building they were in was surrounded by two walls: an inner wall and an outer wall. The inner wall, the first wall, was about eight meters high, and it had sharp pieces of glass on top to prevent any climbing attempts. The second wall was the outer wall, and this wall had armed surveillance guards standing on it. These two walls eliminated the idea of escaping from above. The only way to escape was from below, the classic way: they had to dig a tunnel underground. The problem was that the floor beneath their feet was not dirt, but concrete. The matter was difficult and complicated from the start. But the five, being Americans, had all seen "The Great Escape" film, which was one of the most famous prison escape movies at the time. The film was released in 1963, and the story that inspired the film was the famous escape of 76 prisoners from Hitler's prison in World War II. The five had seen this film where prisoners escaped through an underground tunnel, and they knew that the events of the film were based on a true story. This gave them motivation and inspiration and they felt that they would be able to do it no matter what obstacles they faced.
Challenges of Tunnel Digging and Facing Unexpected Obstacles
There were many obstacles. The first obstacle was the concrete floor they had to penetrate. The digging operation would start from their room or cell, then they would pass under the bathrooms because they were in their way, and after that, they had to cross the inner wall. Then there was an empty space between the inner wall and the outer wall that they had to cross and overcome the outer wall and exit from behind it. They estimated that the distance they had to dig was between 10 to 15 meters. First, they had to penetrate the concrete floor, and most likely they would need to break it somehow. They would need at least two tools: a striking tool like a hammer, and another breaking tool like a screwdriver.
One of them, Mike, noticed that there were workers working on one of the prison walls, doing maintenance. He noticed that there were small stones next to them that they were using for this work. Lightly, he walked towards them and took one of these stones. This stone would serve as a hammer. Now they needed a screwdriver or an alternative tool. All they could get was a dull butter knife, which they bought from one of the prisoners. Where did the money come from? Most likely the brothers Frank and Dan had some money, and they had some contacts in Mexico who could help them and provide some things. Now they had a stone and a butter knife, so they would be able to use this knife and hit it with the stone to break the floor. "These were not the best tools, but they had to make do with what was available".
Six Weeks of Digging and Continuous Suffering
The best place to dig in their cell was near the room's wall, as it was the closest point that could lead them outside. They moved one of the beds and identified the digging location, and set up a makeshift tent to hide the person digging in the cement. This tent was a regular sheet. The person digging would enter under the tent or sheet and begin striking the cement with the stone and knife. Of course, they set up a monitoring system so they wouldn't be discovered. At least two people would stand outside by the window and door to alert the person digging if any other prisoner or guard approached. At the same time, the people standing outside would pay attention to the sound of digging and striking, and if the person digging started making a loud noise, they would have to warn him to lower his strikes, or at least wait until there were sounds and noise outside so they could continue their digging without being heard.
The process of digging through the concrete was very tiring and slow. They were trying to dig in a square or rectangular shape to have an opening wide enough as an entrance to the tunnel. The process of breaking the concrete took a full "six weeks". Finally, after all this time and effort, they managed to open a suitable opening in the floor. But what awaited them under this opening was disappointing: the ground under the concrete was muddy and full of water, not dry dirt they could dig through. "It was a shock to them, but they did not despair". They immediately decided to try to dry this mud and turn it into dirt, perhaps the water was only present in the upper layer. They started collecting the water from the ground and putting it in a bucket, then they took the bucket and emptied it into the toilets. They continued in this state for three days, going back and forth trying to dry the water in the ground, but it was not effective. The ground did not dry, and every time they emptied the water, more appeared on the surface. It was clear that there was something or a source wetting the ground from the inside from below, and no matter how much they tried to dry it, they would not succeed. At this point, they felt despair, as there was no way to dig the tunnel. They closed the opening with the concrete cover, put the bed back in its place, and forgot about the whole thing, resigning themselves to the idea that they would stay in this prison for an unknown period, a period known only to God.
Hope Returns: Water Cut-Off in Prison Opens the Escape Route
Time passed slowly, and each day was more boring than the last. At least when they were digging, they had a goal to work towards. But now, their lives were empty, especially since this prison had no work, workshops, or things they could spend their time on. Therefore, most prisoners used drugs, and drugs were available to any prisoner who had money. The guards did not search for them, and even the prisoners used them in front of them, and things went on normally. Our five friends tried to walk around the inner courtyard of the prison all day just to pass the time without stressing their minds, because in a place like this, you can easily go crazy or take the dark path and start using dangerous drugs like heroin that can literally kill you.
"Five months passed in this state, without purpose and without knowing their exact situation". None of the officials or officers spoke to them or told them anything clear, and the language barrier made things even more difficult. But after these five months, something happened in the prison. The water they used for bathing and toilets suddenly cut off. Then news spread that one of the main pipes supplying the prison with water had broken or had a large leak, so the water was cut off from the prison to fix the problem. One day, two days, three days passed, and the water was still cut off. Suddenly, an idea occurred to one of them, Mike. He remembered the hole they had dug and the water in it, and he told his friends: "Maybe the water cut-off from the prison has dried the ground, and maybe the broken pipe they are fixing is the reason the ground was always muddy and wet." The rest said: "By God, it could be."
Resuming Digging and the Broken Sewer Pipe
Immediately, they moved the bed from its place, lifted the concrete cover, and to their surprise, the ground was dry; it was dirt. At that moment, they were all overjoyed and said to each other: "Alright, time to get to work, my friend." Immediately, they brought a large plastic bucket and started taking the dirt out of the hole. The digging process was fast, especially at the beginning. Within just a few hours, they managed to dig almost a full meter. Of course, the digging was vertical downwards; they hadn't started digging the tunnel horizontally yet. But after they had dug to a depth of about a meter, they started digging horizontally. However, the further they went, the harder the soil became, so they used the small knife they had to continue the horizontal digging. Here, the digging process slowed down a bit, especially since the tunnel was narrow, only shoulder-width, and the situation was frightening. "It was like digging while inside a coffin". But of course, the situation they had experienced in this prison over the past months gave them the determination to continue, and what gave them even greater motivation was that the digging speed was still relatively fast. If they continued at this rate, they would be able to dig the tunnel in about one month.
Of course, this operation would not be without problems. The first big problem they faced was the dirt they were taking out of the tunnel—where would they put all this dirt? Especially since the prison floor was all concrete, so the dirt could not be thrown anywhere, everyone would notice. The only place that came to their minds was the bathroom toilets, but of course, it is difficult to put large quantities in the toilets, and most likely the toilets would clog quickly, and the prisoners and guards would notice that something was wrong. So they decided that the best thing they could do was to hide the dirt under their beds, that is, in the same room where they were digging. It was indeed a high risk, and the room was likely to fill with dirt quickly, and it was also likely that the guards would conduct a surprise search, but they had no other options. "Their only option was to focus and try to finish digging as quickly as possible". The faster they finished, the less chance of them being discovered.
Tunnel Rescue Operation and the Sixth Member Joining the Team
The digging process was done in shifts among them. Each time, one of them would go in and dig for five or six hours, with someone outside helping him remove the dirt from the tunnel. About a week passed like this, and they were doing well. Perhaps they had dug about three or four meters, meaning they had covered a reasonable distance. And as I mentioned earlier, they would need to pass under the bathrooms because they were on their way and adjacent to their room or cell. One of them, Paul, was digging inside the tunnel, and suddenly, as he was digging, he hit something and came out of the tunnel with a pale face. His friend Mike, who was standing outside and helping him clear the tunnel of dirt, asked him: "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Paul replied: "I think I hit the bathroom drainage pipe and broke it, and now water is leaking into the tunnel."
A foul smell immediately emanated from the tunnel opening. And although the prison generally smelled bad, a very foul smell was emanating from their cell at that moment. The two immediately told their friends, who came to see the disaster. And indeed, it was a disaster in every sense of the word. As soon as they lifted the cover from the tunnel, they smelled the odor. The problem was that even if they tried to clean the tunnel and remove the water, dirt, and filth in it, where would they take it? If they took it to the toilets, it would immediately return from the broken pipe and enter the tunnel, especially since this was the main drainage pipe for all the bathrooms. So, all the prisoners' waste passed through it. Within just a few hours, the tunnel was filled with filth. At least, the ground was absorbing the water to some extent, meaning the tunnel did not completely fill with water, but it all became filth. "If they wanted to stop this filth, they had to fix the pipe and seal the break". It was important that they do so quickly, first so that the tunnel would not fill with more filth, and second so that no one would discover that there was a problem, for if someone discovered that there was a problem and that the filth was not draining properly, and its smell spread everywhere, the guards might come and search, and a problem would occur, and the whole story would be exposed. They would discover the dirt under their beds and they would discover the tunnel, and they would spend the rest of their lives in Mexican prisons.
Continued Digging and the Awaited Escape Date
The unfortunate thing was that none of the five were prepared to undertake the pipe repair. Each one passed the task to the other. Everyone completely refused to do this task. Here, when they saw the difficulties before them, they decided to try to bring in a new person, a sixth member who could do this task. Immediately, a prisoner named Benny came to mind. Benny was an American prisoner like them, and they had gotten to know him over the past months; he was a person who was high all the time. They had a feeling that he might agree to carry out this dirty task. They brought Benny and brought him into their room, showed him the tunnel opening, and told him: "Look, our friend, we are digging a tunnel and we are going to escape, but as you see, we have run into a problem: the drain pipe is broken and leaking into the tunnel. If you go in and fix the pipe, we will escape with you, and you won't need to do anything else after that. We will finish the digging. All you have to do is go in now and fix this pipe." As soon as Benny saw the hole and smelled the odor, he immediately said: "Are you crazy? No way I'm doing that!" The five continued trying to convince him, and Frank also told him: "I will reward you when we get out. I will give you money and a quantity of marijuana you've never seen in your life." Benny was hesitant. The task was difficult and disgusting, but the reward and temptations were appealing. In the end, he told them: "Okay, I'll do it." The five were all happy, cheering and encouraging him, saying: "You are a hero, and we will reward you."
Before Benny entered the tunnel, they had to give him something to fix the opening or break. Somehow, they managed to arrange for cement powder. Most likely they paid some workers. They mixed this cement with water and put it in a coffee can. Benny had to take this can and go into the tunnel and reach the broken pipe and fix the break with the cement. The poor fellow, he prepared himself and took a deep breath (because of course he wouldn't breathe through his nose) and entered the tunnel. Of course, it was an unenviable situation. While inside, he wanted to vomit from the disgust, but he fought himself and made his way until he reached the pipe and put the cement on the break and made sure that he closed the opening well. They also asked him on his way back to try to collect the dirt and filth, especially the large pieces, and put them in the can with him, meaning he should try to clean the place on his way. Benny came out of the tunnel opening with filth covering his body. Immediately, the others had prepared a bucket of water for him to clean himself. They eagerly asked him: "So? How are things? Okay? Did you seal the break?" He told them: "Yes, I sealed it." And with that, Benny had deserved his place in the team with flying colors, and their number was now six.
The Night Escape and Anticipated Freedom
Everyone was happy that they had finally solved this problem. They waited a few days for the tunnel to dry completely. Even after it dried, a very bad smell lingered in the tunnel, but at least now they could resume digging again. Of course, they lost important time due to this problem, and the longer it took, the greater the chance of their discovery. "Time was a critical factor". They returned with all their might to complete digging the tunnel. They had to finish as quickly as possible. They continued digging day after day, and they were digging about 18 hours a day, taking turns. The tunnel reached a length of about six meters, and their estimates indicated that they had surpassed the inner wall, the first wall. They were now most likely in the area between the inner wall and the outer wall of the prison. They did not know the exact length of this area.
Mike had a small wooden flute, so he cut it and attached a small mirror to it, making a periscope-like tool, meaning a tool he could extend from the tunnel and look through, like a submarine's periscope. He entered the tunnel and went to its end, made a small opening with the butter knife they had, and discovered that they were very close to the surface. Although they had dug about a meter deep at the beginning of the tunnel, perhaps the ground levels were uneven. The important thing is that they were now very close to the surface of the earth, so the distance between the tunnel and the surface was very small. After making the small opening, he extended the periscope and looked, and discovered that they were very close to the outer wall, which was the wall they needed to pass. He returned to his friends and told them: "We're close, maybe only two or three more meters and we'll pass the outer wall." Everyone encouraged each other and said: "Come on, let's work harder." And they continued digging in the tunnel, and tried to increase their speed even more, and each of them worked hard to dig the greatest possible distance.
The Rain Surprise and the Last Moments Before Freedom
Of course, as they approached the end of the tunnel, they had to start preparing for the post-escape phase. This task fell to the brothers Frank and Dan, especially Dan, who had lived in Mexico for years and had contacts with some people who could help them. Dan agreed with his contacts outside the prison to prepare two cars for their escape after they left the prison. They were six, so they needed at least two cars. He told them that they would wait for them at a specific location near the prison after three nights, meaning they expected to escape on the third night. The two cars with their drivers were supposed to be at the agreed location after three nights. The group worked harder to finish the digging on time.
But on the night of the next day, something unexpected happened: it rained. The person who was inside the tunnel when it rained could literally hear the rain above his head, because the tunnel, as we mentioned, had a very small distance between it and the surface. Water began to leak from the periscope opening, and suddenly the opening widened and water began to enter the tunnel in large quantities. The person who was in the tunnel came out and told his friends about the new disaster. Everyone was afraid of the tunnel collapsing, and they were sure that it would not bear the weight of the water that would accumulate on it, especially since the layer between the tunnel and the surface was very small. And worse, the tunnel was getting wet from the inside. They had no doubt that the tunnel would collapse. "They were waiting in their cell in a state of extreme frustration, because after the tunnel collapsed, the guards would surely discover it, and immediately they would come to their cell, and God knows what they would do to them after that". The group remained on edge, waiting nervously, expecting the guards to attack them at any moment. The rain continued that night and continued until the next morning.
The Lucky Escape and Emerging from Hell
The sun came out, and the group was still waiting for the guards to come in, but to their surprise, no one came. They were surprised: could it be that the tunnel withstood all that rain? "It can be said that they were incredibly lucky". And indeed, they went down into the tunnel after the rain stopped and discovered that it had not collapsed. It had water and was wet, but it was still standing. They tried to drain the water as quickly as possible and dry the tunnel as much as they could, because they had to finish digging quickly. The escape was supposed to happen that night, which was the time they had agreed upon with the drivers who would be waiting for them outside. Immediately, they went back to digging, and each of them worked an hour or two, taking turns so that no one would get tired. They continued digging until about 2:00 AM, and at that point, they felt they had reached a place they believed was beyond the outer wall of the prison. Of course, if they had time, they would have wanted to dig more to get further away from the wall and the prison, but they had no time left; they were already late.
Immediately, they entered the tunnel one by one, and made a smart move before entering: they wore their clothes inside out, so that when they passed through the tunnel, the clothes would get dirty on the inside, and when they came out the other end, they would flip them back to appear cleaner. The six crawled inside the tunnel. The end of the tunnel was still closed, and they would not open it until the moment of exit. The person at the front was Mace, and he was wearing a ski mask he had acquired somehow while in prison. Mace's task would be to open the exit hole at the end of the tunnel, and he would use this mask to protect his face slightly from the dirt and dust that would fall. But opening the exit was not an easy task. The ground above them was somewhat solid, so Mace kept hitting and digging with the butter knife they had, and his friends waited for him in the tunnel. He continued digging for about fifteen minutes, and finally the exit began to open before them. Everyone got excited and cheered for a few moments, but when Mace put his head out of the opening, he immediately returned inside and told them that it was lit outside. The prison lights were literally above their heads. If they came out from there, anyone passing by or any guard looking at this place would see them immediately. His friends asked him: "Did you spot anyone in the place or was the place empty?" He told them: "No, I didn't spot anyone, the place was empty." The group agreed among themselves that there was no turning back now, they had to get out.
A Final Glimpse of the Escapees' Fate
Mace exited the opening first, followed quickly by his friends one after another. As soon as one exited, he went to the wall and pressed against it so that no one from the guards, who were most likely above, would see him. Now, all six were outside the tunnel and pressed against the outer wall. Mike, who was at the front, peeked his head around the corner of the wall to see the situation. The place was completely exposed to the guards. Literally, they had to walk past the main prison gate to cross to the street. Here, Mike remembered the move they made when they were carrying the marijuana bags, when they walked past the police officer confidently and calmly. He realized they had to use the same method to get out of this place. Quickly, they turned their clothes to the slightly cleaner side, dusted themselves off as much as possible, and walked out in complete silence, as if they were locals. They wished they could run at that moment, but they knew that any quick movement would immediately attract attention. What also helped them was that the prison was surrounded by residential areas; it was not an isolated prison in the middle of nowhere. So they hoped that even if a guard saw them, he would think they were ordinary people returning to their homes, even though it was almost 3:00 AM. They continued walking calmly in front of the prison until they were a reasonable distance away. Here, they started running, happy and joyful. "They realized that they had gained their freedom without being seen or suspected by any of the guards".
Now, they had to quickly reach the place where the cars were waiting for them before morning broke and the guards discovered the escape. They arrived at the agreed-upon location excitedly, but their excitement quickly disappeared when they didn't find the cars there. Dan was the one who was supposed to arrange these cars, so they asked him: "Where are your friends? Where are they?" He told them: "Don't worry, don't worry. There's another place I agreed with them on if they couldn't reach this place, maybe they're there." The second spot Dan had specified with the drivers was near a train track. The six moved behind Dan and continued running for a distance, and morning began to break, increasing their fear that police patrols would start searching for them if the guards discovered their escape. The drivers were also supposed to look for them on this road which ran parallel to the train tracks. The six stopped on the side of the road, waiting, and suddenly they saw two cars approaching from a distance. They all looked at Dan and asked him: "Are those your friends coming?" And Dan himself was watching, waiting for the cars to get closer to make sure if they were his friends or someone else. Moments later, he smiled and said: "Yes, those are them." At that moment, the joy of the six was indescribable. They realized that they had indeed been freed from the hell they had spent "seven months" in. This is how long they had stayed in prison.
At this point, the six said goodbye to each other, and three of them got into each car. The original three friends got into one car together, while the brothers and Benny got into the second car. As for where they went, after Benny drove for a distance, he got out and went his own way, and before he left, the brothers gave him what they had promised him in terms of marijuana and reward. As for the brothers themselves, they were wanted in America on drug and marijuana smuggling charges, so they headed to southern Mexico and did not return to America. As for the three friends, they decided to return to America and enter through the land border. Their passports were with them, because even in the Mexican prison, they did not take their passports from them, as they were their identification documents, as they did not have cards or IDs in Mexico. So, luckily their passports remained with them. When they reached the border, the guards allowed them to enter immediately, meaning they faced no obstacles. They returned to their country safely after this suffering and strange adventure they had experienced.
Sources :
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CNN reported that three Texas residents went missing in Mexico during a spring break trip, raising concerns over cartel violence.
Read the CNN article -
BBC News highlighted the international attention surrounding the case, confirming that the missing Americans were found near a known drug cartel region.
View the BBC coverage -
NBC News confirmed the arrest and the involvement of drug trafficking zones, stating that one of the victims had previous travel history to Mexico.
Check the NBC report -
The Guardian detailed the political and security response from both US and Mexican authorities following the incident.
Read The Guardian’s article -
Reuters provided insights into the broader issues of American tourists getting caught up in Mexico’s drug-related violence.
Read the Reuters piece