Live to Tell: Kidnap on Highway 1

48 Hours: A Family Returning from Vacation in Mexico is Ambushed, Kidnapped as they Approach U.S. Border

(CBS)  This story was originally broadcast on Jan. 2, 2010.

What if someone wants you dead - but you live to tell?

A family returning from vacation in Mexico is ambushed and kidnapped at gunpoint as they approach the U.S. border. Now, they recount their terrifying brush with death, and their improbable escape to safety.

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Divinia Hall: When I was a kid, I had a strange fear of being kidnapped. That always scared me. It always freaked me out that there might be somebody that wanted to take me and I'd never see my family again.

We were headed home from a family vacation in Mexico. Family trips to Mexico have always been wonderful. We're been going for as long as I can remember.

Chris Hall: Divinia and Tyler were asleep in the back seat. For some reason, Tyler always sits behind his mom and Divinia always sits behind me. It's- they've done it their whole life, I don't know why.

We were on the toll road. You could see the lights of San Diego. A police car turned on their lights - the red and blue lights and the siren - and I looked back. I said, "Crap Deb. We're getting pulled over."

Debra Hall: I heard sirens at the same time I felt the truck kind of jerk over to the side and I asked him, "Were you speeding? What have you done?" He said, "No I wasn't speeding."

At that point we were probably a mile and half as the crow flies from the border. We were so close to being home.

We've been pulled over by police before. It's never really been a big deal. So he pulled over. The policeman walked up to the window. He didn't even get a chance to really talk to him -

Chris: And he put a gun straight to my forehead right here. Told me to get back in the truck.

Debra: At that same exact second, another car came around and blocked us in. It happened so incredibly fast.

Divinia: So at that point there was nowhere we could go. They really trapped us in.

Chris: I looked in the mirror and could see probably eight, 10 guys.

Debra: There were eight to 10 gunmen.

Divinia: There's men surrounding our truck.

Chris: They're all dressed the same in a, kind of a military type.

Debra: Very precise in their movements. All the other guys except for that first one had their faces covered. They just had this portion of their eyes showing.

Divinia: They all had guns with silencers on 'em… They told us to put our heads down and shut up… I remember my brother saying, "Oh God, no, please no."

[newsterI]

Chris: We bought a boat. We all go to the river together?that's our new place to go, I guess.
We just had our 25th anniversary. We took our kids to Hawaii for their first time. "

Don't do that, watch the video here about the couple selling their boat who were kidnapped during a test cruise, tied up to the anchor and thrown overboard.
Dont know what it is about these rich people and their world cruises, worst place you can go is a foreign country, they don't care about a couple of American gringos, especially if you go flaunting your cash like these people did driving a brand new huge expensive truck and a 5th wheel trailer! Nothing says American gringo, FREE MONEY better than a a bunch of dorks in flip-flops, sun glasses and tourist clothes driving a huge new truck and expensive trailer.

[mzbridges]

I am so glad to see this story aired. I am sure they are not the first family to have this happen to. Our family use to spend a lot of time in Mexico, our grandparents and family lived their and were born in Mexico. We will never again travel in Mexico, it is a very dangerous country and people need to be made aware of it and what can happen to them with no help from either government. The people/thieves do not have any regard for life and know they will not be prosecuted by the law. The Federal Police in Mexico are a corrupt group of gangsters as many of other police departments are in Mexico.
With this Arizona law it will get worse, I believe we will see many more kidnappings for ransom start with the tourists. Mexico is a dangerous country and now add it?s drug wars to it! We should warn people against traveling in Mexico.

We have spent many vacations in Mexico. My brother had an encounter similar to this family not as extreme but very scary with the Federal Police or bandits posing as police. He has never gotten over it. We ourselves have had an encounter with the Federal police in the Mazatlan airport where they unloaded passengers from the plane and made us pay before we were allowed to re board. Little did they know most of the men they did this to were law enforcement officers who did not identify themselves as officers of the USA.
Very sad to see this happen because we will never ever travel again to Mexico and I am of Mexican decent but anyone who asks me about travel to Mexico I urge them against it.

[Ken92103]

First, I hope the family has recovered and gotten over this terrible ordeal. Sorry it happened at all, to anyone, particularly to you.

I am not sure I see any connection to Arizona's SB1070, but I do question why CBS decided to air this story again; it aired originally in 2007.

Clearly the "police" were not really police. They were petty criminals: car thieves. These renegades predate the current drug cartel gangs, and were clearly less violent than the current crop of criminals. It seems like ancient history with no relation to today's news. It wasn't newsworthy at all... so why was it aired?

Regarding Mexico's situation, it bears repeating that not one single innocent tourist or foreign resident has been harmed or killed in the cartel violence. Until I realized how old this story was, and the thankfully non-fatal ending, I was afraid that might change... but no.

So what we have is a Mexican citizen who came to their aid, and Mexican police who realized it was best to get these people back to the US rather than keep them in Mexico, penniless, incommunicado, and lost. The Mexican cops at least were practical about it.

On the other hand if I were this family I would have my congressional representative raising holy hell with the Department of Homeland Security over their treatment at the border inspection. We are lead to believe that American citizens need only announce their citizenship in a foreign land and the weight of the red, white and blue comes to their assistance. It is shameful, and the family should have had an investigation and someone's head should have rolled.

And as for the San Diego Police Department, shame on you. Citizens show up being victims of violence and they tell them to go to McDonalds? Again, heads should have rolled.

You can't make this stuff up!

And finally, what is the point, CBS, of listing how many kidnappings have been reported in the US and Mexico? Do we really care if a drug cartel member or corrupt cop was kidnapped in Mexico? Does CBS really believe that the kind of cash and carry kidnappings that take place in Mexico has any comparison to what happens in the US? You ended the report with a blatant slur against Mexico, and the slur didn't really prove anything to anyone who can read between the lines. The kind of kidnappings that occurred in Mexico bear absolutely no resemblance to what happened to this family. It wasn't even a kidnapping for goodness sake, except in only the most technical legal definition. Why not compare statistics for carjacking or auto theft?

There is plenty wrong with things in Mexico... but this story didn't report on it.

~K

[RLUSA1]

In my opinion the parents involved in this story are idiots. How can anyone that lives in Calfornia (or anywhere else in the USA) not know about the problems in Mexico. The parents are lucky that everyone was not killed. The situations and crime in Mexico and along the US border is in the news everyday. Our own State Dept. warn US Citizens about venturing south of the border into Mexico. I think the father in this story should be more responsible in the future.

[fishermenjustice]

Remember, it can happen anywhere, and does. Just be glad it wasn't YOU!!

[karldwilli]

I realize the airing of this story is a bit of political maneuvering on behalf of CBS in the wake of the blow to the new Arizona illegal immigration law that was supposed to go in to place this week. As much as I dislike media manipulation, I think the story was right on time, the fact that this happened to the All American blue-eyed blond family did not hurt the story either, but what I like about the timeliness of this story is that it serves as a reminder that the Arizona law was not targeted to your Mexican Nanny, Maid or your Mexican Roofer. The law is targeted toward people within a country who have no regard for their own laws and even less for ours. I am still in complete shock that this was not a Federal Law, because I have travelled to other countries and have always understood that even if I was not in the process of committing a crime, I could still be asked to provide proof that I had the correct documentation to be in my "host" country. Post 911, Mexico relishes its responsibility to stop and question anyone who may wish to enter the U.S. from another country in the name of curbing terrorism. You mean, we don't do the same even when the person is suspected of a crime? Really? Really?

[sky7002]

This story has nothing whatsoever to do with the AZ legislation. It's about a family's ordeal with a criminal element in a third world country.

The AZ law wouldn't be considered racist if police required proof of citizenshhip or immigration status from ALL persons they detained. The problem is that the intent of the law is to focus on hispanics suspected of illegal immigration from Mexico. Because there are so many US citizens of hispanic descent, that leaves a large number of these citizens open to racially based discrimination if they're detained and forced to prove citizenship while non-hispanic citizens are not subjected to the same requirement.
That I disagree with the wording and focus of the law does not mean that I don't believe in enforcing our federal immigration laws. I merely believe that it should remain a federal issue and should be done in a manner that protects the rights of US citizens who are members of a minority ethnic group.

[fishermenjustice]

Everyone is a part of an ethnic group. I am here legally. I have to provide documentation, when i write a check, get pulled over by police, or use a credit card. I'm being harassed!!