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Ambushed in Mexico, Mormon Children Tried to Save One Another Ambushed in Mexico, Mormon Children Tried to Save One Another
(about 5 hours later)
PHOENIX — About 10 hours after the massacre that claimed the lives of his grandchildren, Kenneth Miller drove his ATV through the northern Mexico wilderness in a frantic search for one last missing relative — a 9-year-old girl who had gone in search of help.PHOENIX — About 10 hours after the massacre that claimed the lives of his grandchildren, Kenneth Miller drove his ATV through the northern Mexico wilderness in a frantic search for one last missing relative — a 9-year-old girl who had gone in search of help.
Following a path off the dirt roadway where three vehicles had been hit with a barrage of gunfire, Mr. Miller and fellow searchers found small footprints in the sand — one foot bare, the other with a shoe on it. They followed the tracks for miles, at times losing the trail on harder rock, then picking it back up again in softer soil.Following a path off the dirt roadway where three vehicles had been hit with a barrage of gunfire, Mr. Miller and fellow searchers found small footprints in the sand — one foot bare, the other with a shoe on it. They followed the tracks for miles, at times losing the trail on harder rock, then picking it back up again in softer soil.
Then, through the darkness, Mr. Miller saw her. McKenzie was alive. Then, through the darkness, Mr. Miller saw her. Mckenzie was alive.
“I ran out and grabbed that little girl and just hugged her,” Mr. Miller recalled. “I said, ‘It’s your Uncle Kenny.’ The first thing she said was, ‘We’ve got to go back and get the others.’”“I ran out and grabbed that little girl and just hugged her,” Mr. Miller recalled. “I said, ‘It’s your Uncle Kenny.’ The first thing she said was, ‘We’ve got to go back and get the others.’”
The search ended a day of inconceivable trauma for Mr. Miller, who earlier that morning had found the burned remains of his daughter-in-law and four of his grandchildren in their bullet-riddled vehicle. In the northern Mexico community of fundamentalist Mormons, where large families are the norm, it was children — including some less than a year old — who faced the brunt of the carnage. The search ended a day of wrenching trauma for Mr. Miller, who earlier that morning had found the burned remains of his daughter-in-law and four of his grandchildren in their bullet-riddled vehicle. In the northern Mexico community of fundamentalist Mormons, where large families are the norm, it was children — including some less than a year old — who faced the brunt of the carnage.
In the days since, as they undergo hospital treatment here in Arizona, the children have also become the face of the community’s bond and resilience. In the days since, as they undergo hospital treatment here in Arizona, the children have also become the face of the community’s bond and resilience as the once-tranquil enclave grapples with the fallout from Monday’s attack.
Details emerging from the tragedy are revealing how some of the children who survived the Monday morning roadway attack frantically tried to save their siblings. Kendra Lee Miller, a relative who was raised in the Mormon enclave in the Mexican state of Sonora and now lives in the United States, described a harrowing scene, based on firsthand reports from the survivors. Mckenzie Langford, 9, and her sister, Kylie, 14, who was shot in the foot, were released from a hospital in Tucson on Wednesday and were being taken to Mexico for the funeral of their mother and siblings, scheduled for Thursday, said Leah Staddon, a family member.
Ms. Miller said that Devin Langford, 13, saw his mother, Dawna, and his brothers Trevor, 11, and Rogan, 2, shot dead. Video provided by the family showed two white S.U.V.s riddled with bullet holes. There were about a dozen in the front windshield of Dawna’s vehicle, and the interior was covered in blood and strewn with foam puzzle pieces used by the children. They would be returning to a conservative Mormon community that some family members who were raised there described as an idyllic place to grow up.
Devin managed to survive the massacre with six other siblings, who took refuge in nearby bushes. Devin “covered them with branches to keep them safe while he went for help,” Ms. Miller wrote on Facebook. Children often roam free, they said, learning how to fish and hunt and garden. Some go to local public schools, while others are home-schooled. For fun, they ride horses or ATVs and, like young people the world over, have time for video games and time on the internet that their parents try to regulate.
From the hiding place, the boy trekked about 14 miles across country to the outpost of La Mora, where the families lived, to get help. He arrived shortly before sunset, providing the first reports about survivors and how the deadly attack had unfolded. “It used to be a very peaceful place,” said Ms. Staddon, who grew up in the community of La Mora, where most of those involved in the attack came from. She now lives outside Phoenix with her husband and five children. “But we knew something was changing,” she said. “It was impossible to ignore the increasing violence around us.”
The morning began with a three-car caravan journeying along a dirt road that family members in the Mormon communities had traversed for decades. Three mothers drove, with a total of 14 children along for the trip. The morning of the tragedy began with a three-car caravan journeying along a dirt road that members of the Mormon communities had used for decades. Three mothers drove, with a total of 14 children along for the trip.
But reports began coming in that something had gone wrong. Mr. Miller and the others drove out to find out what happened. They came first upon a vehicle that had been driven by his daughter-in-law, Rhonita Miller, 30, with four of her children inside. Their remains, he said, were charred to the point of being unrecognizable. But reports began coming in that something had gone wrong. Mr. Miller and the others drove out to find out what happened. They first came upon a vehicle that had been driven by his daughter-in-law, Rhonita Miller, 30, with four of her children inside. Their remains, he said, were charred to the point of being unrecognizable.
Family members identified the children who died there as Howard, 12; Krystal, 10; and 8-month old twins, Titus and Tiana. Family members identified the children who died there as Howard, 12; Krystal, 10; and 8-month-old twins, Titus and Tiana.
Ms. Miller, who split her time between the northern Mexico community and North Dakota, had three other children who had stayed home with her father-in-law and the rest of the family. Her husband, Howard Miller, has since flown in from North Dakota, but family members said the children hadn’t yet grasped the news of what had happened to the rest of their family. Ms. Miller, who split her time between the northern Mexico community and North Dakota, had three other children who had stayed home with her father-in-law and the rest of the family. Her husband, Howard Miller, has since flown in from North Dakota, but family members said the children hadn’t yet grasped the news of what had happened.
“It’s all a nightmare,” Mr. Miller said.“It’s all a nightmare,” Mr. Miller said.
After finding the shell of the burned-out S.U.V., Mr. Miller said, the family began worrying about what had happened with the other two vehicles, which had been traveling farther ahead. It had been hours since they left, no one had heard from them, and evening was approaching. After finding the shell of the burned-out S.U.V., Mr. Miller said, the family worried about what had happened with the other two vehicles, which had been traveling farther ahead. It had been hours since they left; no one had heard from them and evening was approaching.
That was when Devin reached La Mora and reported what had happened to the others. That was when 13-year-old Devin Langford showed up at the outskirts of La Mora — exhausted after a 14-mile trek through rugged terrain for help. He was hungry and dehydrated after walking for hours, and he had a chilling story about what had happened to the other vehicles.
Eventually, members of the community, accompanied by Devin and the police, made it out far enough to find the other two S.U.V.s, which were together. Devin told his family that the group was driving down the road when gunmen — some of them standing on a nearby hillside — suddenly opened fire.
The two women who had been driving them, Dawna Langford and Christina Johnson, were dead, as were two of Dawna’s children. When the shooting stopped, the gunmen approached the vehicles and pulled the surviving children out, gesturing and telling them in Spanish to leave the area, said Lafe Langford, a family member. Dawna Langford, Devin’s mother, was slumped over the steering wheel, dead. Christina Johnson, who was driving the other vehicle, was lying dead on the road. Two of Devin’s siblings — Trevor, 11, and Rogan, 2 — had also been killed.
But six more children were alive, though some of them were injured: A 14-year-old shot in the foot, an 8-year-old shot in the jaw, a 4-year-old shot in the back, a 9-month-old shot in the chest. A 6-year-old was uninjured. And, at the time, 9-year-old McKenzie Langford was missing; she, too, had set out to find help after hours had passed and Devin had not returned. “The kids had no choice but to start walking,” Mr. Langford said.
Ms. Langford’s children who remained alive — Devin and six siblings — began a trek away from the scene, but one of them, Cody, had been shot in the hip and leg and couldn’t walk. Another had been hit in the foot. The group eventually decided they wouldn’t make it home and decided to seek cover.
Devin led them down a hillside and under a tree, and the children used bushes to create a hiding place, Mr. Langford said. Then Devin went for help.
Eventually, members of the community, accompanied by Devin and the police, made it out far enough to find the two remaining S.U.V.s, which were together.
Video provided by the family showed the two white vehicles riddled with bullet holes. There were about a dozen holes in the windshield of Dawna Langford’s vehicle, and the interior was covered in blood and strewn with foam puzzle pieces used by her children.
They also found six more children alive, though some of them were injured: A 14-year-old shot in the foot, an 8-year-old shot in the jaw, a 4-year-old shot in the back and a 9-month-old shot in the chest. A 6-year-old was uninjured. And, at the time, McKenzie was missing; she, too, had set out to find help after hours had passed and Devin had not returned.
Then there was Christina’s baby, Faith, just 7 months old, who was still strapped in her car seat. Mr. Miller said the car seat had two bullet holes in it, and shots had pierced the interior of the car all around her. But the baby was uninjured.Then there was Christina’s baby, Faith, just 7 months old, who was still strapped in her car seat. Mr. Miller said the car seat had two bullet holes in it, and shots had pierced the interior of the car all around her. But the baby was uninjured.
“That child was miraculously protected,” Mr. Miller said.“That child was miraculously protected,” Mr. Miller said.
A video of some of the injured children, recorded after the attack, shows them in a medical facility. A baby girl wrapped in a pink patterned blanket shrieks as a man tries to comfort her. A bandage covers her chest. Another girl sits on a bed, her face drawn into a deep frown, blood covering her jeans, her long brown hair tousled and loose. Her foot is wrapped in bandages.A video of some of the injured children, recorded after the attack, shows them in a medical facility. A baby girl wrapped in a pink patterned blanket shrieks as a man tries to comfort her. A bandage covers her chest. Another girl sits on a bed, her face drawn into a deep frown, blood covering her jeans, her long brown hair tousled and loose. Her foot is wrapped in bandages.
The staff at a Mexican hospital treated the injured children until a helicopter provided by the Mexican military airlifted the children to the United States border; from there, they were transported to a hospital in Tucson. Some of the wounded children were expected to be moved on Wednesday to a hospital in Phoenix for further treatment, according to Aaron Staddon, 44, a relative who lives in Queen Creek, Ariz. The staff at a Mexican hospital treated the injured children until a helicopter provided by the Mexican military transported the children to the United States border; from there, they were taken to a hospital in Tucson.
Mr. Langford said Cody had been scheduled for surgery on Wednesday and might need a series of surgeries to recover.
“Cody is still not off the hook,” Mr. Langford said. “We still need him lifted up in prayer.”
In the aftermath of the attack, the Mexican government was providing a military escort to family members attending the funerals of the women and children killed on Monday.
“Otherwise some families on the American side would be afraid to go,” said Ms. Staddon, the relative standing watch at the hospital with the wounded boys. “I wonder if the place where I grew up will ever feel safe again.”
Simon Romero reported from Phoenix, Mike Baker from Seattle and Elizabeth Dias from Washington.