Page 23 - Inside Mexico News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> reporter: on falcon lake there has been no sign of david hartley's body, his jet ski, anything that could prove his wife's story, that her husband was shot to death by mexican drug smugglers. the beheading of the one mexican detective, willing to at least try to solve the crime, has dealt the hartleys another blow. you feel right now there's people in mexico, maybe even police in mexico, who won't say what happened to david. >> yes. >> reporter: because they're afraid. >> yes. if you have threats against your loved ones, if you don't know if they're going to come home, i mean, that's a fear...

>> honestly, looking at the barrel of the gun is all i saw. >> reporter: the cbs morning news. >> we never really had that feeling that something was going to happen that day. >> reporter: but word began to leak out even from mexico that her story was being doubted. >> so she kept on coming this way. >> reporter: the zapata county sheriff, siggy gonzalez was the first american law official to speak with her. . >> it seems like something made up. seemed like a story out of the comic books. >> it's hard, because -- >> reporter: but tiffany hartley is insistent on telling her version of what happ...

>> only people with jet skis are involved with dope. >> right. >> reporter: clearly nervous, colette barely slowed down as we approach the church tiffany and david hartley visited on september 30th. he turned the boat and gave us 30 seconds to take the pictures at the exact spot tiffany hartley said they had stopped. >> this is the last place they came to, the old guerrero church. they took pictures on the front step, according to tiffany hartley. and they set down this channel to head back, and it was about five minutes into their voyage when they were approached by the boats. in an instant, ...

Explain why the couple was targeted. former intelligence official fred burton has been studying a turf war in mexico between two drug cartels. a former band of military guards called the zetas and the more traditional gulf coast cartel. >> what most people don't realize when you're looking at the border is that there are certain portions that are not controlled by the mexican government. and the area of falcon lake was directly controlled by the zetas, and this was a very strong smuggling corridor for them. >> reporter: so you believe this was mistaken identity? >> clearly, all evidence indica...

The way of life of mexico. and the politics -- i think there's too many connections between u.s. and mexico, too much money going back and forth. >> reporter: connections you mean in a criminal way? >> in a money way. i think it's all money. >> reporter: in the air over border country, captain stacy holland says the financial stakes are so high for the drug cartels, that money takes precedence over everything else. >> so what the states faced with and the nation really is an aggressive narcotics smuggling ring, or cartels that their interest lies in their inventory. that's what they're going t...