U.S. missionary fatally shot in Mexico

MONTERREY, Mexico, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Gunmen on a Mexican highway shot and killed a U.S. missionary trying to flee from them, police in Pharr, Texas, said.

Police said Nancy Davis and her husband, Sam, were driving from Monterrey to Reynosa, about 70 miles from the U.S. border, when gunmen in a pickup tried to force them to pull off the road, the San Antonio Express-News reported Thursday. When they tried to flee, the gunmen opened fire, shooting Davis in the head.

Police said her husband rushed her to the international bridge at Pharr and called police and U.S. Customs officers for help. An ambulance took Davis to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The Davises founded the Methodist Gospel Proclaimers Missionary Association in Weslaco, where they had a home, the New-Express said. A friend said they spent most of their time in Mexico.

"She was 150 percent involved in the mission work," said Merton Rundell III, finance director at Union Bible College in Indiana and a friend of the couple. "They were a team, a dedicated team."

He said the Davises visited the college regularly to speak about their missionary work.

The area of northern Mexico where the Davises did their mission work has become increasingly dangerous during the past year because of the violent drug wars. In September, the U.S. State Department warned citizens against traveling between Monterrey and Tamaulipas states.