A family member's audio messages reveal the horror and heartbreak after the Mexico massacre 2019-11-07 631 words in total New words of this article(11 words): --------------------------------------------- massacre n.残杀,大屠杀v.残杀,集体屠杀 unravel v.拆开 fundamentalist n.信奉正统派基督教的人 ambush n.埋伏,伏兵v.埋伏 convoy n.护送,护卫vt.护航,护送 suburban adj.郊外的,偏远的 lament n.悲伤,哀悼,恸哭,挽诗,悼词vt.哀悼v uninjured adj.未蒙损失的,未受伤害的 familial adj.家族的,家庭的 mainstream n.主流 hospitalize vt.就医 --------------------------------------------- (CNN) All they could do was pray. In the hours after the massacre残杀,大屠杀残杀,集体屠杀 of three mothers and six of their children on a road in northern Mexico, family members can be heard in chilling WhatsApp audio messages struggling to unravel拆开 what happened. By then, there was little else they could do for the Mormon fundamentalist信奉正统派基督教的人 mothers and their children who were ambushed埋伏,伏兵埋伏 Monday after setting out in a convoy护送,护卫护航,护送 to visit family. "Dear God, everybody Pray!," one family member in Mexico at the time, Kendra Lee Miller, said in a group chat among cousins. "My mom's suburban郊外的,偏远的 is blown ... by the hill. Everyone please pray." The vehicles were traveling between the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua when authorities said members of a criminal group, possibly a drug cartel, opened fire on them in two separate locations. At least one of the vehicles caught on fire. "Nita and her children are gone," Miller said of her sister-in-law, Rhonita Marie Miller. "They've been burned inside the vehicle. Uncle Jeffrey verified, counted all five bodies. Their bones are burned... Their bodies are burned to a crisp. Dear God pray for us all." Rhonita Marie Miller, 30, was driving with some of her seven children to Arizona to pick up her husband, Howard, who was working in the US, according to relatives. Another family member, Dawna Ray Langford, 43, was driving a second car 10 miles ahead to go visit family in Chihuahua with her nine children, Kendra Lee Miller said in a Facebook post. She was shot to death. So were two of her children: Trevor Harvey Langford, 11, and Rogan Jay Langford, 2. "Aunt Dawna with most of her kids, Nita with her two oldest and the twins, and then Christina and her baby -- none of them have been heard from," Kendra Lee Miller lamented悲伤,哀悼,恸哭,挽诗,悼词哀悼 in the WhatsApp chat. Christina Marie Langford Johnson was driving the third car with her 7-month-old daughter to meet her husband and the rest of her children. They were moving to North Dakota. Their car was near Dawna Langford's. Johnson also was killed in the attack. But her daughter was found alive and uninjured未蒙损失的 未受伤害的 in the car with bullet holes all around her. Witnesses said the baby was found in her car seat, and it looked like her mother had moved her to the floor of the back seat for protection. With time, the messages revealed the extent of the tragedy. "Guys, Aunt Dawna and Christina are dead," Kendra Lee Miller said in a group chat. Having witnessed the death of his mother and brothers, 13-year-old Devin Blake Langford hid his surviving siblings in bushes, covering them with branches, according to family members. He then walked 14 miles to the La Mora community with news of the attack. "Keep praying!" Kendra Lee Miller urged in the audio messages. "They still have 5 kids hiding in the bushes. Devin walked home." The victims had dual US-Mexican citizenship and were members of a independent Mormon community with familial家族的,家庭的 ties on both sides of the border. The community is separate from the mainstream主流 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Five children who were eventually hospitalized就医 in Tucson are expected to survive, said Willie Jessop, whose son is married to Dawna Langford's daughter. Three of the children suffered serious injuries but two others could be discharged soon, Jessop said. The WhatsApp audio only reflects Kendra Lee Miller's part of the messages. She declined to release the audio of family members for privacy reasons. "I want the world to know that this ... is so horrible to us because of our innocent people," she told CNN. "We tried to live good lives and be good citizens and contribute to the communities around us and make the world better and raise our families and be good people. And some people are wanting to paint us in some awful ways right now."