It happened in 2012 in Mexico, a 20-year-old girl named Karen Rodríguez was kidnapped by a group of people and blackmailed.
At that time, shootings, kidnappings, and mutual payments occurred in the city of San Fernando, Mexico on a daily basis.
Ms. Miriam’s journey began on January 23, 2012, when Karen was kidnapped in San Fernando city, Tamaulipas state.
The intersection where Karen was kidnapped
Because she was so miserable, Miriam took the risk of making an appointment with a member of Los Zeta, the local Cartel gang, to negotiate, because she believed that this organization was behind the kidnapping.
During the meeting, Los Zeta people asserted that Ms. Miriam had wrongly blamed them, but promised to find help with a salary of 2,000 USD (equivalent to 46.3 million VND).
The restaurant where Miriam met with Los Zeta members in San Fernando
Not long after, others continued to call claiming to be the kidnappers.
A few weeks later, Miriam separated from her husband and moved in with her eldest daughter, Azalea.
During the appointment with Los Zeta’s people, she got the first clue which was the name of the villain.
Weeks later, Mrs. Miriam regularly visited the ice cream shop to understand the girl’s work schedule.
To avoid being recognized by the target, Ms. Miriam dyed her hair bright red and wore the uniform she kept from working as a civil servant at the Ministry of Health. At the same time, she investigated until she grasped basic information about Sama.
Miriam kept a photo of Sama (black shirt) along with many other evidence she collected herself
After having valuable information in hand, Ms. Miriam knocked on the doors of agencies at all levels at the local, state and federal levels but received no help.
`The information and details that Miriam gathered while working alone were unbelievable. A mother’s boundless love can do extraordinary things.`
But when the authorities issued an arrest warrant, Sama fled, so the only clue was gone.
Some time passed, on September 15, 2014, when Luis – Miriam’s son – was about to close the store in Ciudad Victoria city, a male customer walked in, and as fate would have it, he recognized his opponent.
Arrested, Sama revealed the names and residences of several accomplices, including Cristian Jose Zapata Gonzalez, who was just 18 years old when police arrested him.
Luis at the farm where his sister’s remains were found
Based on information provided by Cristian, more than a dozen bodies were found buried at the abandoned farm.
Not stopping, Ms. Miriam spent the next several months searching for information about the perpetrators, but with each passing day, the clues became more and more tenuous.
Miriam’s portrait hangs on the wall of the house where she used to live
The news of Flores’ arrest made many people at the ceremony find it difficult to believe.
`Where was his tolerance when he killed my daughter?`
In March 2017, nearly 20 prisoners escaped from prison in the city of Ciudad Victoria, where those whom Miriam investigated were being held and reported to the police to apprehend them.
This time, Miriam spent several days sitting in a car parked near the house where the target worked as a nanny.
Grave of Miriam Martínez
On Mother’s Day (May 14, 2017), Mrs. Miriam was still wearing a leg cast and using crutches.
After Miriam’s death, the city of San Fernando placed a memorial stone in her memory in the square.
But even when she was no longer alive, Miriam seemed to never stop searching for justice for her daughter.
Source: nytimes