On December 26, 2006, Kelly Gaskins and her boyfriend, Ervin Braxton Williams, left Chocowinity, North Carolina, telling their families they were heading to Brownsville, Texas, to look for work. It is unclear whether they ever stayed in Brownsville, but on January 18, 2007, Kelly called her mother, Denise, and informed her that she and Ervin were in Matamoros, Mexico, working at the Fontana Inn. This was the last time Denise ever heard from her. In March 2007, Kelly’s friend, Virginia Wood, also from Chocowinity, traveled to Texas to visit the couple during spring break. On March 10, Wood contacted a friend and mentioned plans for her and Kelly to travel to Cancun, Mexico. Shortly thereafter, both women, along with Williams, went missing. Additionally, Wood’s black 2003 Nissan Sentra, bearing North Carolina license plate TTZ-6801, vanished and has never been recovered.