Mexico10 hours after the gang's shootings, Kenneth Miller drove a terrain-scooters through the wilderness looking for his grandchildren.

He frantically sought the last of his missing grandson: 9-year-old McKenzie Langford left the hiding place to seek help, after gang gang ambushes killed her mother and many siblings.

Out of the dirt road where three cars had holes in the bullet holes, Mr. Miller and other searchers spotted small footprints in the sand. They tracked for a few kilometers, sometimes losing track because of the hard ground, but then the footprints appeared in softer lands.

Through the night, Miller finds his niece Mckenzie still alive. "I ran and hugged her tight," he recalls. "I said, 'It's Mr. Kenny.' She said, 'We have to go back to help others.'"

The search ended a painful day for Miller, who earlier received the burnt body of his daughter-in-law and four grandchildren in a car covered in bullet wounds.

They were all victims of the massacre that shocked Mexico on November 4, when a group of 17 people traveled on three cars from Sonora state to Chihuahua state to attend the wedding of an ambushed relative in a remote area.

The victims died include Christina Langford Johnson, Ms. Dawna Langford and two children, Ms. Rhonita Miller and twins 8 months old and two children 8-10 years old.

Christina's 19-month-old son and six other Dawna children survived the attack.

Mckenzie and her 14-year-old sister Kylie were hit by a wrist and foot bullet, but were treated at Tucson City Hospital, Arizona, USA, on November 6 and taken to Mexico for their mother's funeral with their brothers. sisters took place on 7/11.

The Langford family lives in the La Mora neighborhood of northern Mexico, where the Mormon community describes it as a simple, quiet land. Children roam freely, learn how to fish, hunt and garden. Some go to local public schools, while others study at home. In their free time, they ride horses or drive across ATV terrain to entertain or play video games and spend time on the Internet.

"This used to be a very peaceful place," said Mrs. Staddon, who grew up in the La Mora neighborhood. She currently lives on the outskirts of Phoenix with her husband and 5 children. "But we know things have changed. Violence is increasing around us."

On the morning of November 4, a convoy of three glaciers ran across a dirt road used by Mormon communities for decades. In the three cars were three mothers with a total of 14 children.

But information continually poured in to signal that something bad had happened. Mr. Miller and others rushed to find out. First, they encountered the car of his daughter-in-law, Rhonita, 30, with 4 grandchildren inside. Their bodies were burned to the point of unrecognizable status. Family members who confirmed the deaths were Howard, 12, Krystal, 10, and 8-month-old twins Titus and Tiana.

After finding the burned-out SUV of his daughter-in-law, Mr. Miller said the whole family was very worried about the fate of the other two cars that had gone ahead. It had been hours since they left but there was no news even though it was starting to get dark.

At this time, 13-year-old Devin Langford appeared in La Mora, exhausted, hungry and dehydrated for walking more than 22 km in search of help. The boy told a creepy story about what happened to the other two cars.

According to Devin, her family was driving on the road when many gunmen believed to be Mexican gang members suddenly shot like rain from the hill down the road. Rhonita's car was hit by the gas tank and burned violently.

The gunmen then approached and pulled out the surviving children, signaled and spoke in Spanish asking them to leave the area. Dawna Langford, mother of Devin, collapses on the steering wheel. Christina Johnson, the driver of the other car, lay dead on the side of the road. Devin's two younger children, Trevor, 11 and Rogan, 2, were also killed.

The surviving Langford children, including Devin and his six siblings, began crawling out of the scene, but Cody was shot in the hip and leg so he could not walk. Another was shot in the foot. The group realized they couldn't go home, so they decided to find a place to hide.

Devin led the children down a hillside, hiding in the bush, then Devin went alone to find help.

With the help of Devin, the police found the remaining two cars in the same place. Family-provided videos show that both cars were hit by dozens of bullets.

They found 6 more children alive, though injured. One 14-year-old was shot in the leg, an 8-year-old was shot in the jaw, a 4-year-old was injured in the back and a 9-month-old was shot in the chest. At the time, McKenzie was not present where the children were hiding. I was worried my Devin brother would not come back after so many hours and left to look for help.

After the massacre, the Mexican government sent troops to protect family members of victims to attend the funeral.

"Still, some families in the US are still scared," said Staddon, a family member who is always at the hospital with injured children. "I wonder when will I ever feel safe again where I grew up."