DENVER—About 100 friends and supporters of a man reportedly shot and killed by Mexican pirates rallied outside the Mexican consulate to call on authorities to bring his body back to the United States.
The rally, organized by friends of Loveland natives David and Tiffany Hartley, developed out of comments they posted on Facebook after last week’s alleged attack.
Tiffany Hartley says she and her husband David were riding Jet Skis back from Mexico on Sept. 30 when they were attacked by Mexican pirates in speedboats on a lake on the Mexico-Texas border.
Rallygoers shouted “Bring David Home” and “Justice for the Hartleys” as they walked from a park through a quiet neighborhood to reach the consulate.
David Hartley’s family has called on Mexican authorities to do more to find him although Mexican authorities say they’ve been searching for him since last week. On Friday the Mexican government said it opened a federal investigation into the case.
Outside the consulate, David Hartley’s sister Nikki, said it’s hard to know what’s happening across the border.
“We’d like to believe good people are down there but there’s so much corruption, it’s hard to have much faith that what you’re being told is the truth,” she said.
Later, however, Nikki and Tiffany Hartley’s sister, Tia Young of Aurora, said they were encouraged after meeting with officials inside the consulate. They said officials promised an open door policy to answer their questions.
Nikki Hartley fought back tears as she updated the crowd about what had happened. She said her family still needs time to talk privately about what still needs to be done in the search.
Also Friday, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter said he spoke with officials at the consulate about the case and that they assured him that they’re doing everything possible to find Hartley and bring those responsible to justice.
