Widow of man killed by Mexican pirates says Obama should 'wake up and look at what's going on in our backyard'
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Wake-up call: Tiffany Hartley outside her family home in LaSalle, Colorado, where she spoke to the media today
Tiffany Hartley, whose husband was shot while the two were fleeing from Mexican pirates on jet skis earlier this month, said the attack should be an example for President Barack Obama on the need for more border security.
Mrs Hartley said: 'He should wake up and look at what's going on in our backyard,' referring to the pirates that attacked her and her husband on Falcon Lake at the Texas-Mexico border.
Speaking outside of her home in LaSalle, Colorado, Mrs Hartley said she spent 16 hours speaking with Mexican officials, who - in a rare move - came across the border to meet with her.
She said 'I think the only reason they did is, A) I was not going over there; and, B) [because] of the publicity they've had.'
Mrs Hartley said she planned to remain in Colorado at her family's 20-acre ranch, but she wanted to use the media and the upcoming elections to help keep her husband's murder in the spotlight.
She said: 'Being here in Colorado, [the media is] going to be my way to get my voice out.'
Mexican authorities have said they will press on with their search for Mr Hartley's body - despite their lead investigator, Rolando Flores, being decapitated on October 12.
Mrs Hartley said: 'I still believe they are going to do what they can for David and for us, for bringing him home.'
She said she had met Mr Flores, and that he seemed to be working hard to find her husband. She added: 'I can't even explain how my heart is just broken for him and his family. There aren't any words.
Final farewell: Mrs Hartley, left, and family members lay a wreath near the site where her husband, David Hartley, was shot last month on Falcon Lake in Zapata, Texas
'He was just such a nice guy and he really wanted to do what he could for us.'
U.S. authorities, however, are worried that the beheading of Mr Flores will cause Mexican police to back off the murder investigation.
Mrs Hartley said: 'We know that's a possibility, but we haven't heard any word that's going to happen. Obviously we want David to be found and we don't want them to stop their search.'
The widow said she gets search updates from Mexican authorities almost every day.
Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez, of Zapata County in Texas, said he felt for Mr Flores's family.
Happy couple: Tiffany and David Hartley were chased by Mexican pirates. It has been suggested Mr Hartley was killed in a case of mistaken identity
Continuing search: The body of Mr Hartley has not been recovered and there has been no sign of his jet ski
He said: 'They're going to now be without a father, without a husband - when in fact all he was trying to do was search for the body of Mr Hartley.'
Mr Flores's severed head was delivered in a suitcase to a military post near the border with Texas.
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ShareHis wife had said he was working late on the Hartley case the night before and never came home.
Though many believe Mr Flores's murder was the work of the drug cartels who control the waters where Mr Hartley was killed, Mexican authorities have denied his death had anything to do with the murder investigation.
Mr Hartley was shot September 30 while on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake.
Mrs Hartley said they were headed back to the American side of the lake on jet skis when they were chased by Mexican pirates.
Popular spot: The Falcon Power Plant dam on the Rio Grande River between Texas and Mexico. The lake is popular with fishermen and sightseers
Ambush: Tiffany Hartley has told police that she and husband David were jet-skiing in Falcon Lake when they were attacked by Mexican pirates
She told authorities that her husband was shot in the head and that she had to flee to shore to save her own life. Mrs Hartley has said she has been asked by Mexican authorities to travel to Mexico to give a statement, but she has declined to protect her own safety, instead filling out paperwork at the Mexican consulate.
Two weeks ago, Mexican authorities named two suspects in Mr Hartley's murder, two Zeta drug cartel members known as Pedro Saldiva Farrias, 27, and his brother Jose Manuel Saldiva Farrias, whose age was not given.
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