‘We are all saddened’ by Lake City natives kidnapped in Mexico, mayor says

LAKE CITY, S.C. (WBTW) — Lake City Mayor Yamekia Robinson released a statement Wednesday morning after four Lake City natives were kidnapped in Mexico last week, leaving two of the four dead.

“We have heard the disturbing news that has happened in Matamoros, Mexico this past weekend involving four American citizens native to Lake City, SC,” the statement reads.

Shaeed Woodard, 33, and Zindell Brown, in his mid-20s, were killed when the group they were traveling with got caught in a drug-cartel shootout, the report said. Brown lived in Myrtle Beach, his sister, Zalandria Brown, who lives in Florence, told the AP on Tuesday.

Two other Lake City natives — Eric Williams and Latavia “Tay” McGee — survived the kidnapping, but Williams’ brother told the AP that he was shot in the left leg.

“We are all saddened and have heavy hearts for them and their families,” she said. “We send our deepest sympathy out to each family. We ask each of you, your friends, your family, your churches, and your communities across the nation to keep us all lifted in your thoughts & prayers as we the City of Lake City and the families grieve the loss and get through this tragic incident together.”

Eric Williams’ wife, Michelle Williams, told News13 in a phone interview on Tuesday that said she didn’t know where he was going, just that he was going to help two friends. She said the FBI showed up at her door on Sunday to inform her of what happened.

“I didn’t hear from him after Friday,” she said. “Friday morning he texted me and I texted him back immediately. He didn’t respond so I’m going to assume that’s when he was ambushed.”

Reports have said the group got caught up in the shootout as they traveled to Mexico for one person in the group to have cosmetic surgery. The survivors were held captive for days in a remote region of the Gulf coast before they were rescued from a wood shack, officials said Tuesday.

Williams and McGee were returned to U.S. soil on Tuesday in Brownsville, the southernmost tip of Texas and just across the border from Matamoros.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.