Two of the five migrant children found abandoned on a Texas farm had been kidnapped and whipped alongside their mother before ransom was paid to free them in March

  • Guatemalan national Daisy, 22, and her two daughters, Ashlei, 5, and Valeria, 11 months, were kidnapped and beaten in Mexico while trying to migrate to the U.S.
  • Univision reported that a $3,000 ransom was met to secure their freedom after Daisy's Honduran boyfriend Ashley returned to Mexico from the United States 
  • Ashley's sister Sandra spoke to their sibling in Honduras two weeks ago and mentioned her plan to cross the Mexico-U.S. border with her daughters 
  • She also said she would be bringing Ashlei and Valeria and added that they would all be turning themselves in to the U.S. immigration border officers
  • The four children and another girl from Honduras were found Sunday on a farm in Quemado, Texas, and are now in the custody of U.S. authorities 
  • The whereabouts of Daisy, Ashley and Sandra are unknown 

Two of the five girls who were discovered on the land of a farmer near the Mexico-United States border in Texas on Sunday were kidnapped with their mother and beaten by their captors before their family member paid a ransom in exchange for their freedom.

A Guatemalan woman identified as Daisy, 22, is one of three parents who are reportedly missing and haven't been heard from in weeks, family members told Univision on Wednesday.

Her sister, Yolanda, told the network that Daisy had left her family home in February with her boyfriend, a Honduran national identified as Ashley, and her two daughters, Ashlei, 5, and her 11-month-old sister Valeria. 

The family settled in Mexico and shared a home with Ashley's sister, Sandra, her husband, and two daughters, Nashley, 7, and Cristal, 4.

Five girls from Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico were found on Sunday by Texas onion and watermelon farmer Jimmy Hobbs on his property in the border town of Quemado, across from the Mexican state of Coahuila. The photo was posted on Twitter by Congressman Tony Gonzalez on Sunday after first being shared on border Facebook groups

Five girls from Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico were found on Sunday by Texas onion and watermelon farmer Jimmy Hobbs on his property in the border town of Quemado, across from the Mexican state of Coahuila. The photo was posted on Twitter by Congressman Tony Gonzalez on Sunday after first being shared on border Facebook groups

Guatemalan national Daisy, 22, and her two daughters, Ashlei (top right) and Valeria (bottom right) went missing in March after they were kidnapped in Mexico. Her sister told Univision that the captors forced her and the children naked and beat them. They were later freed after a $3,000 payment was made. Ashlei and Valeria are two of the five children who were found on a farm in Texas on Sunday.

Guatemalan national Daisy, 22, and her two daughters, Ashlei (top right) and Valeria (bottom right) went missing in March after they were kidnapped in Mexico. Her sister told Univision that the captors forced her and the children naked and beat them. They were later freed after a $3,000 payment was made. Ashlei and Valeria are two of the five children who were found on a farm in Texas on Sunday.  

Univision reported that Sandra spoke by phone to her sister Katerine in Honduras two weeks ago and said that she was planning on crossing the United States-Mexico border with her daughters, Nashley (front left) and Cristal (front right) and was also accompanying her brother's daughter and stepdaughter. The children and a fifth girl were found on a Texas farm on Sunday. However, her whereabouts are unknown

Univision reported that Sandra spoke by phone to her sister Katerine in Honduras two weeks ago and said that she was planning on crossing the United States-Mexico border with her daughters, Nashley (front left) and Cristal (front right) and was also accompanying her brother's daughter and stepdaughter. The children and a fifth girl were found on a Texas farm on Sunday. However, her whereabouts are unknown

According to Univision, Ashley left Honduras in 2018 following the murder of his older brother, who was part of a gang. His sister Sandra followed him to Mexico in 2019. There he met Guatemalan native, Daisy, who in 2020 gave birth to his daughter, Valeria. He migrated to the United States in December 2020, but went back to Mexico in March after learning that Daisy and his daughter and stepdaughter had been abducted

According to Univision, Ashley left Honduras in 2018 following the murder of his older brother, who was part of a gang. His sister Sandra followed him to Mexico in 2019. There he met Guatemalan native, Daisy, who in 2020 gave birth to his daughter, Valeria. He migrated to the United States in December 2020, but went back to Mexico in March after learning that Daisy and his daughter and stepdaughter had been abducted

Ashley was the first of the adults who was able to migrate to the United States, doing so in December 2020, but returned to Mexico in March after learning that Daisy and the two girls had been abducted.

While in captivity, Daisy and her daughters were locked in a room, forced to get naked and whipped by their captors. After paying the abductors as much as $3,000 to be freed, Daisy reportedly attempted to cross the border but was mugged at gunpoint by cops and remained in Mexico.

According to the Univision report, Sandra had spoken two weeks ago to her sister, Katerine, back home in Honduras and told her of the plan to cross into the United States with the four girls and turn themselves in to U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents.

Katerine said Ashley and Sandra left Honduras, in 2018 and 2019, respectively, following the murder of the siblings' older brother, who was a member of a local gang.

Valeria, an 11-month-old girl from Mexico, was found Sunday on a Texas farm with five other children, including her sister, after they had been smuggled across the United States-Mexico border. The whereabouts of her mother, a Guatemala national, and father, a Honduras native, are unknown

Valeria, an 11-month-old girl from Mexico, was found Sunday on a Texas farm with five other children, including her sister, after they had been smuggled across the United States-Mexico border. The whereabouts of her mother, a Guatemala national, and father, a Honduras native, are unknown

On Sunday morning, Katie Hobbs and her husband Jimmy Hobbs discovered five migrant girls near a river on their farm in Quemado, Texas, which borders with the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila

On Sunday morning, Katie Hobbs and her husband Jimmy Hobbs discovered five migrant girls near a river on their farm in Quemado, Texas, which borders with the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila

The farmer and his wife gave the girls food, water and sat them in shade while they waited for CBP to arrive at the scene

The farmer and his wife gave the girls food, water and sat them in shade while they waited for CBP to arrive at the scene 

While in Mexico, Ashley met Daisy, who became pregnant with the couple's first daughter, Valeria.

Ashley, Sandra and her husband had been working in Mexico to raise money to migrate to the United States.

'What she was going to do was cross and turn herself in with the girls to immigration (authorities),' Katerine said.

The girls were spotted Sunday morning on a Quemado, Texas, farm which is owned by Jimmy Hobbs. The property is located across from the Mexican state of Coahuila.

The 75-year-old onion and watermelon farmer and his wife, Katie Hobbs, spotted the girls on their farmland next to river.

Video footage released by the couple showed the wife of one of their workers feeding Valeria.

'These children dumped out on the side of the river here on our farm,' Jimmy Hobbs told Congressman Tony Gonzales in an interview posted on Twitter.

'If this doesn't make you mad and make you want to take to the streets, I don't know what will. They have no mother, no father, no nothing. This is one of our workers' wives right here taking care of this tiny one. No one with these children.'

Hobbs took the girls over to the shade and gave them food and water before the police arrived.

Each of the children were carrying the phone numbers of their relatives in the United States. Valeria had a phone number written on her diaper.

The children did not require medical attention and were taken to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection station in Uvadale and turned over to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Authorities have not identified the parents of the fifth girl, a native of Honduras. 

The whereabouts of Daisy, Ashley and Sandra are currently unknown.

The top U.S. homeland security official said on Thursday the Biden administration still faced challenges on the U.S.-Mexico border but that it had made extraordinary efforts to move unaccompanied migrant children out of crowded border stations.

Federal authorities have reduced the number of unaccompanied children in border stations from a peak of 5,700 in late March to under 500 this week, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in opening remarks at a congressional hearing.

'The challenge is not behind us, but the results are dramatic,' Mayorkas said. 

Recent border data obtained by The Associated Press showed that 21,000 children are currently in the custody of the U.S. government. An Army base in Texas has more than 4,500 minors as of Monday. 

A CBP monthly report released Tuesday showed that border agents encountered 17,171 unaccompanied children, down 9 percent from 18,890 in March when a record number of unaccompanied migrant children entered U.S. custody along the southern border.