In Mexico the number of body dumpings has increased in the last 6 months due to the growing fight between the Zetas and Sinaloa Cartel. In less than a month, the maimed bodies of 14 men were left in a van in downtown Nuevo Laredo and 23 people were found hanged or decapitated in the same border city. Near Mexico’s second-largest city, Guadalajara, 18 dismembered bodies were left out in the open. Nuevo Laredo like Monterrey is considered Zeta territory. Guadalajara has long been controlled by gangs loyal to Sinaloa.

The Sinaloa Cartel is said to be run by fugitive drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and its allies, said the federal Attorney General’s office in a statement on Sunday. The office is offering $2 million reward for any information that can lead them to the arrest of Guzman, Zetas leader Heriberto Lazacano and Miguel Trevino. The two cartels have emerged as Mexico’s two most powerful gangs and are battling over strategic transport routes and territory.

The Zetas are a temporary gang without real territory or a secure stream of income, unlike Sinaloa with its profitable cocaine trade and control of smuggling routes and territory, said Raul Benitez Manaut, a security expert at Mexico’s National Autonomous University. But the Zetas are heavily armed while Sinaloa has weak weapon enforcement, he said.

Drug violence has killed more than 47,500 people since President Felipe Calderon launched a step up offensive when he took office in 2006. Mexico is now in the middle of a presidential race to replace Calderon. Drug violence seems to be rising but none of the candidates have referred directly to the mass killings. They all say they will stop the violence and make Mexico a more secure place but offer small to none details on how their plans would differ from Calderon’s.

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Just yesterday, the end of a days-long manhunt seemed within reach. A tip to the FBI led officers to the area. The tip was not that Mayes had been spotted but that there was an old log cabin at the back of a church that might be a good hiding place.

State officers approached the area and noticed the two girls lying on their stomachs. From where they lay they could see Adam Mayes, the man who took them from their home in Tennessee and had them hiding in the Mississippi woods.

As the officers drew near Mayes he pulled out a gun and shot himself in the head. The girls watched as it happened. “They were close enough to see what was going on when he killed himself,” FBI spokesman Jason Pack said. The girls were tended to by two agents and taken to a hospital.

“They were scared and relieved,” Pack said. “They were hungry and thirsty. They gave them water, and we drove them out right away. “There is no evidence that Mayes and the girls actually used the cabin but they were believed to have been in the area for a few days, Pack had said. “There was no shelter or anything. It looks like they were in the open woods. They were dehydrated and dirty, like they were here for several days,” he said.

Alexandria and Kyliyah were released during the night from Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Tennessee, hospital spokeswoman Sara Burnett said.
Adam Mayes’ mother-in-law, Josie Tale, told HLN’s Nancy Grace on Thursday that Mayes may have believed he was the father of the two girls he was accused of kidnapping.

Police said Teresa Mayes told them she was in the Bains’ garage when Adam Mayes killed Jo Ann and Adrienne Bain. In affidavits, investigators said the Mayeses drove the bodies of Jo Ann and Adrienne Bain to Union County in northern Mississippi where they were found in a shallow grave in Guntown. Mayes and Teresa had been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping.

Bobbi Booth, Mayes’ sister-in-law, described Adam Mayes as “aggressive, abusive, crazy obviously.” “I never dreamed that he would do this,” she had said.

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In Lisa’s home JT Ready apparently shot and killed 47-year-old Lisa Mederos, Lisa’s daughter 23-year-old Amber Mederos, Amber’s 24-year-old fiance Jim Hoitt, and Amber’s 16 month old daughter Lilly, according to a law enforcement source. Lilly was found still alive, but she died at the hospital. We’ve learned another daughter of Lisa’s, a 19-year-old, is alive and was the one that found the blood bath.

This information has not officially been released by the Gilbert Police.

Ready is dead, however it is not clear whether his death wound was self-inflicted, “as there is multiple weapons on scene,” an official said. There were reports of domestic violence between Ready and his girlfriend earlier that day.

Several drums of an unknown liquid were found in the back of the home. Hazmat crews were securing the scene Wednesday night and detectives were not able to go in until 10 p.m. to gather evidence and remove the bodies. In the chemicals current state they did not pose any threat and no homes were evacuated.
“If I had any inkling that this guy was violent or anything like that, there’s no way they would’ve stayed there, my daughters wouldn’t have put one foot in that house… I regret not even looking into it,” said Hugo Mederos who was Lisa’s ex- husband.

It’s not yet clear what the motive may have been. The FBI and other agencies are assisting in the investigation.
What are your thoughts? Why were there so many dead and so many weapons?

Over the years they have cared for more than 160 children and have been with the state’s Child Protective Services through dozens of administrators and at least four child-welfare-reform efforts. Two of their four biological children also serve as foster parents themselves.

At the moment fourteen kids live on the Reeds’ widespread property in Queen Creek including five foster kids, two sibling groups, and a developmentally delayed toddler they’re in the process of adopting. They’ve adopted nine other foster children, including two of the four Avondale quadruplets who made headlines 14 years ago after they were abused by their biological parents.

The first foster child placed with the Reeds’ was a weeping baby named Carrie, born to a heroin-addicted mother. “She had a catlike scream,” Lyle recalled with a grimace. “For our first foster child, it was kind of tough.” The baby stayed with the Reeds for 18 months. Sandy recently got in touch with Carrie through Facebook and sent her baby photos. Carrie, now 28, was adopted and lives in Hawaii. “You have to be extremely flexible to do this. Expect the unexpected, and you’ll be fine,” Sandy Reed said.

They say little has changed except the drug of choice parents prefer whose children come through their door. In the beginning it was heroin, then cocaine and crack, then methamphetamine. Now they are seeing more babies like Carrie being born with the drugs in their system.

The couple has an optimistic view of Arizona’s latest efforts to improve an overburdened system. This includes internal process improvements and a new CPS investigative unit. They’ve heard many of the same complaints for decades which are too few caseworkers, high turnover, and difficulty getting sufficient mental-health treatment for traumatized children.

Esther’s Hope, Mission Community Church in Gilbert had a meeting on April 9th that drew more than 360 people whom were interested in becoming licensed foster parents. Their goal is to find homes for at least 100 children by the end of the year and enlist additional members to support foster families with transportation, meals and even yard work.