Kidnapped on Highway 1

Summary

Kidnapped on Highway 1: A Harrowing Journey Through Fear and Survival

Introduction

In the gripping episode titled "Kidnapped on Highway 1," CBS News' award-winning correspondents delve deep into a harrowing true-crime story that underscores the perils of travel in increasingly dangerous regions. This detailed account follows the Halls, a family whose routine road trip to Mexico turned into a nightmare of abduction and survival.

---

Background: The Family and Their Trip

The Halls were en route home from a family vacation in Mexico, a destination they frequented for its warmth and family-friendly environment.

Deborah Hall recounted, "Cabo San Lucas is the very south tip of the Baja peninsula. It's amazing... the most perfect day we've ever had down there" (06:56).

The family was part of the Baja 1000 race, with Chris Hall and his son Tyler actively participating as part of the pit crew, showcasing their adventurous spirit.

---

The Incident: The Kidnapping

On November 2007, as the Halls were nearing home, their trip took a terrifying turn. While driving on the toll road northbound, a police car initiated a stop.

Chris Hall described the moment: "He put a gun straight to my forehead right here, told me to get back in the truck" (02:59).

Almost immediately, additional vehicles blocked their path, revealing a group of eight to ten gunmen poised with silencers-equipped firearms. The Halls found themselves surrounded and trapped with no means of escape.

Divinia Hall, Chris's wife, shared her fear: "They painted us on the same ditch... I'm so afraid that I was gonna watch my dad get shot right there in front of me" (08:53).

The kidnappers demanded information about a rumored race car and any hidden valuables, believing the family possessed something of value. Despite the Halls' pleas and attempts to communicate, the situation escalated quickly.

---

Immediate Aftermath: A Struggle for Survival

The kidnappers forcefully took the Halls into the mountains above Tijuana, leaving them in a pitch-black environment with limited visibility. The psychological torment was immense, with constant threats and the looming fear of execution.

Deborah Hall recounted the terrifying moments: "I thought they were gonna shoot my baby. This is it. Execution style to the back of the head" (16:17).

Despite the dire circumstances, a glimmer of hope emerged when the kidnappers unexpectedly left the family, allowing them a brief window to seek help.

---

Return Home and Emotional Impact

Upon returning home, the Halls faced the immense challenge of healing from their traumatic experience. The psychological scars were profound, manifesting in nightmares, anxiety, and a lingering fear of recurrence.

Divinia Hall reflected on the long-term effects: "The therapist and my parents both felt that I should go see a therapist on my own based off the fact that this is not my first traumatic experience" (40:25).

Deborah Hall shared her ongoing struggles: "I absolutely have nightmares. I honestly think that the men with the guns are in our house. And I will wake up screaming. And I don't even know what's happening" (39:41).

---

Investigation and Police Response

The family's ordeal highlighted significant challenges in cross-border law enforcement cooperation. The Halls faced bureaucratic hurdles and a lack of immediate assistance from authorities, both in Mexico and the United States.

Deborah Hall detailed the frustration: "The San Diego Police department... they said, we don't. That's not our issue. We're here to take the stolen property" (36:40).

Experts explained the complexities, noting that criminal groups often disguise themselves in law enforcement uniforms to execute their heinous acts, complicating identification and response efforts.

Expert Commentary: "The bandits were probably after the expected race car... These criminals took advantage of the family being pulled over late at night" (12:46).

---

Reflections and Resolution

Despite the trauma, the Halls found ways to rebuild their lives and strengthen their familial bonds. They sought therapy, leaned on each other for support, and gradually moved forward, cherishing the unity that helped them survive the ordeal.

Divinia Hall expressed hope for healing: "Our experience has brought us together... As time goes on, hopefully this will heal itself" (44:14; 44:25).

Chris Hall acknowledged the fragility of life and the importance of family: "We're all home and we're all together and we're all safe. And I really credit him with that" (42:05).

---

Conclusions

"Kidnapped on Highway 1" serves as a sobering reminder of the unpredictable dangers that can arise even during routine travels. The Halls' story emphasizes the critical need for awareness, preparedness, and robust international cooperation to prevent and respond to such traumatic events. Their resilience and unwavering family bond offer a testament to human strength in the face of unimaginable fear.

---

Timestamps

• 02:59 - Chris describes the initial threat by gunmen.
• 06:56 - Deborah recalls their perfect day in Cabo San Lucas.
• 08:53 - Divinia expresses her fear of witnessing her father being shot.
• 16:17 - Deborah fears for her child’s life.
• 36:40 - Frustration with police response.
• 40:19 - Tyler's reluctance to seek therapy.
• 39:41 - Ongoing nightmares and fear.
• 44:14 - Hope for healing as a family.
• 42:05 - Gratitude for being together and safe.

---

Note: Timestamps are indicative and correspond to the moments highlighted in the summary for reference.

Transcript

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[Divinia]

When I was a kid, I had a strange fear of being kidnapped that always scared me. It always freaked me out that there might be somebody that wanted to take me and I'd never see my family again. We were headed home from a family vacation in Mexico. Family trips to Mexico have always been wonderful, and we've been going for as long as I can remember.

[Chris]

Divinion and Tyler were asleep in the backseat. For some reason, Tyler always sits behind his mom and Divinion always sits behind me. They've done it their whole life. I don't know why. We were on the toll road headed north, could see the lights of San Diego. The police car turned on their lights, the red and blue lights and siren. And I looked back. I said, crap, Deb, we're getting pulled over.

[Deborah]

I heard sirens at the same time. I felt the truck kind of jerk over to the side and I asked him, were you speeding? What have you done? He said, no, I wasn't speeding. At that point, we were probably a mile and a half as a crow flies from the border. We were so close to being home.

[Divinia]

We've been pulled over by police before. It's never really been a big deal.

[Deborah]

So he pulled over. The policeman walked up to the window. He didn't even get a chance to really talk to him.

[Chris]

He put a gun straight to my forehead right here, told me to get back in the truck.

[Deborah]

At that same exact second, another car came around and blocked us in. It happened so incredibly fast.

[Divinia]

So at that point, there was nowhere we could go. They really trapped us in.

[Chris]

I looked in the mirror and could see probably eight, 10 guys.

[Deborah]

There were eight to 10 gunmen.

[Divinia]

There's men surrounding our truck.

[Chris]

They were all dressed the same in a kind of a military type.

[Deborah]

Very precise in their movements. All the other guys, except for that first one, had their faces covered. They just had this portion of their eyes showing.

[Divinia]

They all had guns with silencers on them. They told us to put our heads down and shut up. I remember my brother saying, oh, God, no, Please no. After being told for I don't know how many times that you're gonna die, like there's not a lot of other options to think.

[Deborah]

In the truck, Chris had a radio that is specifically made for off road racing. Right before they were opening the door, I grabbed the mic and I said, is anyone out there? We need help. And no one came, came back on the race radio.

[Chris]

There was nobody to turn to, nobody to call, nowhere to go.

[Deborah]

Once they realized that the race radio was there, they ripped it off the mount. They ripped out the wires.

[Divinia]

When all this was happening, a guy climbed into the truck on my brother's side.

[Deborah]

There were guys in the backseat with the kids with guns on them as well.

[Divinia]

And another man jumped in the driver's seat.

[Deborah]

He tried to reach back behind me and touch them and pat their legs or rub their legs. And I just kept telling him, I love you and it's gonna be okay. The whole time I'm doing this, there's this guy with a gun in my side yelling at me to shut up and keep my head.

[Chris]

This took place in November of 2007. We went down for the Baja 1000. It was Tyler's. It was gonna be his 16th birthday.

[Deborah]

Chris and Tyler were working as part of a pit crew for the Baja 1000. Tyler started racing motorcycles when he was five. He's very adventur.

[Divinia]

Ever since my dad would take him, he would jump in a car and help out where he could with changing tires or handing a driver a water bottle. Anything he could do to spend the day in the dirt.

[Deborah]

As a family, we have traveled to Mexico a lot.

[Chris]

We would just go and have fun. It was just. You didn't have a care. You just. You went down and relaxed on the beach. It was always warm.

[Deborah]

Cabo San Lucas is the very south tip of the Baja peninsula. It's amazing. The day before we came back, we had stopped along a little spit of beach coming up the peninsula and probably 35 people met up with us in this deserted beach. And we all barbecued and drank beers on the beach and camped out overnight. And that was probably the most perfect day we've ever had down there.

[Divinia]

It was awesome. We got up really early in the morning to drive home. At first we were caravanning on the way home, and those caravans get a little broken up.

[Chris]

We were pulling a big travel trailer, so we weren't driving nearly as fast as anybody else.

[Divinia]

The plan was to stop in another city and sleep.

[Deborah]

I'm using the cell phone and calling the hotel and confirming, yes, we're gonna check in late. We still want that room. Please hold the room. No problem, Mrs. Hall. Keep coming. We've got your room. When we get there, the room's gone. I really think that was the turning point.

[Chris]

I was tired, and I was like, you know what? We're not that far from home. We're just gonna keep going home.

[Deborah]

Just go forwards five hours and sleep in our own bed. At the time, it seemed like an okay idea.

[Divinia]

My dad said, please take it all. Leave us here. Just whatever you want, take it. Leave us here. And the guy took his gun and put it to my dad's forehead and said, shut up. I was so afraid that I was gonna watch my dad get shot right there in front of me. Six inches from where I was standing.

[Deborah]

I could hear Chris breathing really heavily, like in through his nose and kind of shuddering out through his mouth. I could hear Tyler breathing really, really heavily. And I never heard a peep out of Divinia.

[Chris]

Deborah had to sit up and pretend like everything was okay. I remember her crying and trying to reach back and hold Tyler's.

[Deborah]

Chris is the even keeled one in our family. He kind of sets the tone for things. If he's. He turned white, gray. He looked like he was going to be sick. And if he's scared, I'm scared.

[Chris]

We begged him, just, please let our kids go. Just let the kids go. Deborah and I didn't care what happened to us.

[Deborah]

These are my babies. They don't need this. Just let them walk away. We're out in the middle of nowhere. My kids are not gonna hurt you. They're not gonna call anyone. Just let them go. And they didn't care.

[Chris]

They just laughed at us and said, shut up about your kids.

[Deborah]

I think the gunmen were nervous once they discovered it was an entire family in the truck. And that scared me in itself because the dynamics have changed. They're nervous, too.

[Chris]

And then he started driving, and the cars followed us and then and they.

[Deborah]

Made a right hand turn off the toll road but not at an exit or anything and then drove up into the hills.

[Divinia]

They said they were going to shoot us, that we were going to die.

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[Deborah]

When we were traveling, it was in November of 2007. We weren't aware of any issues that were happening across the border that would make us question traveling on the road at night or traveling on the road alone.

[Emma]

Mexico has become one of the most dangerous places on earth and the number of kidnappings in for ransom gangs have killed more than 5,000 people. That's more than the entire.

[Expert]

I don't see it as the hall's fault at all. These criminals took advantage of the family being pulled over late at night. In Mexico, when you're been traveling all day by a group that's dressed as law enforcement, it's very intimidating. The groups think that you do have money or you do have vehicles. You know, at that point it becomes very serious and very life threatening. The violence in Mexico has increased dramatically in the last two years. There's a battle going on. San Diego, we had probably 200 murders last year. In Tijuana, which is next to San Diego, we're talking about a thousand murders. We're seeing targeted executions. Criminal organizations are melting human bodies in acid and they're hanging them from bridge abutments for everybody to see. Drug cartels in Mexico are getting into kidnapping for ransom and they're executing anybody who stands in their way. If you're kidnapped, you could expect to get executed.

[Divinia]

They drove us onto a dirt road up into the mountains above Tijuana. I don't know exactly Where I was, because they made us keep our heads down. And they stopped.

[Deborah]

They kept asking us, who are you? What's your name? What do you do for a living? Where's the race car? Where's all the money?

[Divinia]

My dad told him, I'm just a truck driver. There's no race car. I'm just a truck driver. I think these people wanted money. I think they thought we were somebody who we weren't.

[Deborah]

They were going through the trailer, just ransacking everything.

[Divinia]

They dug for money and cell phones.

[Deborah]

I told them, you know, this is all the cash we have on us. This is our name. We're not anyone. I mean, we're just somebody's.

[Divinia]

I remember them rubbing down my legs to check my pockets and my pants. I remember somebody grabbing at my neck, looking for any jewelry.

[Chris]

I was absolutely worried about them being raped. Don't think I've ever felt that helpless in my life.

[Deborah]

You've got eight to ten guys with guns. I just did not want them touching my daughter. I was scared to death of that.

[Divinia]

It was creepy. I didn't want them near me. I know my dad didn't like the fact that they were running, you know, grabbing at my legs and my neck and stuff, trying to look for things. And I couldn't imagine having to watch his daughter have that happen.

[Chris]

My only thought was to tell her, I'm so sorry and to try and protect her as best I could.

[Divinia]

My mom kept asking these guys to please just leave my babies here and take what they want. Just leave the kids alone. And they were mocking her. She would say, please, just leave my babies here. And they would be like, oh, please. Please just leave my babies here. It was cruel.

[Deborah]

As a parent in that situation, I felt like the most horrible person there is because there wasn't anything we could do to help the kids.

[Divinia]

Tyler was shaking and crying. He was very, very upset. He had a gun pointed in his side the entire time we were there. I just kept trying to hold his hand, tell him that I love him. I mean, I tried to tell him, it's gonna be okay, but how do you tell somebody it's gonna be okay when they have a gun in their side?

[Chris]

Once they realized there was no race car on the trailer, Left the trailer there and took us further up in the mountain.

[Divinia]

We got to the top of the mountain, they stopped again.

[Deborah]

Where they took us. Really dark, like pitch black. Not be able to see your hand in front of your face. Pitch black out.

[Divinia]

These men pulled my dad and I out of the driver's side. And my dad instantly just wrapped his arms around me, and he hugged me, and he told me he was sorry and that he loved me. And they pulled my mom and my brother out of the passenger side.

[Deborah]

He's still breathing really heavily. And I looked over, and they were putting him into a ditch on his knees, pointed away from me. And there were two men with guns, one on each side, and Tyler in the middle. And I thought, oh, my God, they're gonna shoot my baby. This is it. And I just didn't want to see that happen. Just offered a. Our friend George had driven down with Chris and Tyler. The second day we were in Cabo. George, he said when he woke up that he had had a bad dream. He dreamt that there were guns and somebody was killed, and he just couldn't shake this bad feeling. He said, I just need to leave. In retrospect, I think George had this dream. It was a premonition. We should have all left. When the hotel gave away our rooms. That was a sign. And we had two signs, and we ignored them both. And now look what happened. When they put Tyler in the ditch, I was physically ill. One of the gunmen placed me in the same ditch about eight feet from him. And he kind of shoved me down into the dirt. And I crawled over to where Tyler was, and the guy yelled something at me, and I'm like. Told me to stop. And I'm like, you know what? No. You're throwing us in a ditch. If he's going to kill us in a ditch, I'm not going to be eight feet from my baby. He threw a sleeping bag over Tyler and I. And I thought, they're gonna shoot us. This is it. They're putting the sleeping bag on us so that when they shoot us, they don't get blood on them.

[Divinia]

Because of how big my dad's truck was, we couldn't see my mom and my brother. So we rounded the back of the truck, and my brother was laying face down, and so was my mom. And both of their bodies were covered with a sleeping bag. And right then and there, I thought they were dead.

[Deborah]

The last thing that I remember seeing before they threw the sleeping bag over Tyler and I is Tyler's head. I crawled over, and I just put my hand over his head and kind of held his head, and I was whispering him to him that I loved him. And I was so very sorry. We got us into this. And he was like, it's okay, Mom. It's okay. I love you. It's okay.

[Divinia]

They forced my dad And I down on the ground with my mom and my brother.

[Chris]

Divinia and I got over there as close to them as we could. And as Divinia got down in the ditch, I got down, tried to get on top of her as best I could to cover her body with. With my body.

[Divinia]

I could hear my brother crying and I could feel him shaking. We all just laid there, and they threw a pillow on the back of my dad and I's head. At that point, I really thought this was it. Execution style to the back of the head. All of us laying here, we were gonna die. I told my brother that I loved him. I told my mom and dad that I loved them. It was kind of like, just wait for it. And you know, is this gonna hurt? Am I gonna know? It just happened, but.

[Chris]

Seemed like a long time and nothing had happened. And it seemed like it got real quiet.

[Divinia]

And we laid there and the truck drove away, and we laid there and they were gone. They were just gone. And after probably 10 minutes of laying there, my dad got brave enough to stick his head up and look around and realized there was nobody around.

[Chris]

Deborah kept saying, keep your head down, keep your head down. And I looked around and everybody was gone and the truck was gone. The four of us gave each other a big hug. And I remember Deborah and I telling the kids, we're sorry. We're gonna get you out of here. We had no cell phone, no nothing. And we had no clue where we were. No sense of north, south, east or west. No sense of direction because of the fog.

[Divinia]

Our first reaction was to get up, get out, get away. My mom wanted to find a place to stay until daylight so we could see what we're doing, where we were going. And everybody else felt, no, we need to get out of this situation. What if they come back?

[Deborah]

Tyler was sick, and we were all just so cold from being out exposed to that cold fog and air for so long. So we wrapped the sleeping bags around Tyler and Chris just said, come on, we're walking. We're getting out of here.

[Chris]

And I said, we gotta sit and listen for the ocean. I knew as long as we could find the ocean, we could find our way to help and find our way home. And we started walking.

[Divinia]

We were all in shorts because we had just come from Cabo, where it was 90 degrees out, being the middle of November, in the middle of the night, it was about 48 degrees, I believe.

[Deborah]

There were cactus, there were trees, there were bushes, there were barbed wire fences, everywhere, rocks. We're wearing flip flops and we're trying to go down steep, goat trail type, no trail terrain. I mean, just not something that you would ever walk on if you were wearing hiking boots. I mean, it was just bad.

[Divinia]

We probably walked down the mountain for 45 minutes to an hour. We saw a light, a very faint light in the distance and it was a trailer. And we could hear dogs barking.

[Chris]

Deb said, there's a house. I see a light. And she wanted to start walking towards the house. And I didn't think it was a good idea.

[Divinia]

And so my mom started yelling, help. Somebody came out and fired two rounds in our direction. Now we're getting shot at.

[Deborah]

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[Deborah]

That sounds like fun.

[Emma]

Obviously, murder's not fun.

[Divinia]

We ducked and hit the ground just trying to get as low as possible to get out of any potential line of fire.

[Deborah]

God's supposed to take care of you and give you only what you can handle. And now we've got some other yahoo shooting at us. It was crazy.

[Divinia]

If you don't prepare yourself for the worst, you know, how are you gonna get through it when it comes? You're not necessarily always safe when you think you are. In 2001, my freshman year of high school, there was a school shooting.

[Chris]

Just getting reports of shots fired at Santana High School in Santee. We've heard the three students.

[Deborah]

It sounded like fireworks just going off.

[Emma]

Pop, pop.

[Deborah]

Pop.

[Divinia]

I walked into class and I instantly started hearing popping noises.

[Deborah]

I see so many ambulances at the school.

[Emma]

Someone said, somebody's got a gun.

[Chris]

I heard some shots.

[Deborah]

They're doing a.

[Emma]

It sounded like a shooting at San Antonio High School.

[Divinia]

We heard the shots, and I saw some kid laying on the ground.

[Deborah]

She was in the ninth grade when they had the shooting at the high school. 14. I was really close to where the gunman was. Grabbed my camera, started taking pictures.

[Divinia]

I happened to be in a cooking class. You could hear screaming and just chaos.

[Deborah]

Everybody was running around.

[Emma]

Who is he?

[Deborah]

I don't know.

[Emma]

I just got a glimpse of him.

[Deborah]

You have a whole quad full of people. You know, he fired. He killed a person in the restroom. He shot someone in the back, who ran and collapsed and died in my teacher's arms.

[Emma]

And he is still shooting.

[Deborah]

He's still shooting.

[Emma]

He's still shooting. Okay.

[Divinia]

People were running into the classroom saying, he's got a gun. There's somebody with a gun. And the next hallway over from where I was, another freshman was coming out of the bathroom, just shooting. No real target, just shooting. The SWAT team came into the classroom. It was a team of three or four men. They had us one by one, go out of the classroom.

[Emma]

Okay, where's the shooter?

[Divinia]

Bobby was in the boys bathroom.

[Expert]

We know that there is one suspect in custody.

[Divinia]

The shooter was Andy Williams. He was a fellow freshman. It was a kid that said he was bullied.

[Deborah]

I didn't know she was okay until I actually saw her. I was never so glad to see her in my life. And she was. She was shaking. She was really scared.

[Divinia]

It was instant crying and hugging and just so happy to see them. I mean, he took two lives, and he permanently mentally wounded a lot of people.

[Chris]

She went from a little girl that, you know, was innocent to seem like she grew up to an adult right then and there.

[Divinia]

I think the school shooting forced me to grow up a lot faster than most teenagers grow up.

[Chris]

We heard some dogs barking, and Deb said, there's dogs. There's a house. I see a light.

[Divinia]

I'm in flip flops. My mom's in flip flops. Everybody's in sandals. It's very slippery. My legs were getting cut up by the brush, and we kept falling.

[Chris]

Tyler absolutely stood up and shared the burden. He definitely looked after and watched out for his mom and his sister as best he could. We crossed the toll road, not realizing it was the toll road. Got into this housing area, and we yelled for help. And we rang bells and we banged on doors and nobody would help us.

[Emma]

It was around 3 in the morning, and my doorbell was ringing. So I got up and I went to the window. When I opened the curtain, I saw four people standing there. Father, mother, and the two children.

[Divinia]

Teenagers.

[Emma]

They looked very scared. Something told me I should open the door.

[Divinia]

And I opened the door and she.

[Deborah]

Came out and she said, get in here right now. And she pulled us in and she took us into her home. And she. She was a lifesaver. Literally an amazing woman. She gave me her jacket. She said, what can I do for you? I said, can we use your bathroom when we're all just. Do you have water? And she gave us her water, and she said, you can use my bathroom. She said, it doesn't flush, but I'll carry the buckets of water to flush the toilet for you.

[Emma]

I noticed they had some scratches on their knees and some on their arms. So I offered to clean them up and give them some medicine. I offered to call the police so they could get some more help.

[Deborah]

She said that she was going to call the police. And we all said, no, don't call the police. The police are who had us. Don't call the police. She said, no, no, this isn't. I'm going to call. I know the men in my department. It's going to be okay. And she called the police department in her little colonia. And two men came in a pickup truck. And they put Divinia and I in front with the driver and put Chris and Tyler in the back with the other policemen. And we did not want to be separated.

[Divinia]

And my mom told the woman, if you don't Hear from us in a few hours. Please call my dad. So my grandpa and the woman said, you'll be fine. They're gonna take you home. These police are gonna take you home. And she wrote down their names, their truck number, the license plate number, every detail about them. And when they were driving us to the border, they were going away that I've never been to the border and that I think that made my mom and I both very nervous. And then the officer that was driving, he, he shook his head and he looked down and said, you need to go home. It's not safe for you in here. And so they rushed us up to the border and they got out of the car and both of the officers hugged my entire family and we thanked them as much as we could and they said, go.

[Emma]

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[Chris]

When we walked up to the first customs agent, we told them who we were, what had happened to us.

[Deborah]

We were sweaty, bruised, just a mess.

[Chris]

And we said, we don't have any ID or anything. We need a bathroom. We need a phone and we need water and said there's a bathroom, a phone at McDonald's across the street. He didn't seem to really care.

[Deborah]

The San Diego Police department has like a little satellite trailer thing right at the border. We talked to the police, they would only take the stolen purses and wallets report. And I said, well, what about the brand new truck that doesn't have 8,000 miles on it and the three month old camping trailer and, oh, I don't know, being kidnapped at gunpoint by the Mexican police. And they said, we don't. That's not our issue. We don't care about that. We're here to take the stolen property.

[Divinia]

And that was the extent of the police report they could take.

[Chris]

We left. They let us leave. We went to the McDonald's like they told us. We didn't know where else to go.

[Divinia]

We called my cousin and we called him collect and he came to pick us up.

[Expert]

The crime that occurred to the family down in Mexico, and they reach out to United States, States law enforcement to assist. It sometimes becomes very difficult for us because we have no authority in Mexico.

[Deborah]

When we were pulled over, in my heart, I honestly believed that it was the Mexican police or possibly the federales.

[Divinia]

At the time, we were under the impression they were police because they pulled us over like they were police and they were very well organized. But truly, we didn't know.

[Expert]

There have been several reports of kidnapping cells, or what we call the criminal element that do use Mexican law enforcement uniforms, also Mexican military uniforms, to further their criminal enterprises.

[Divinia]

At the time, I had no idea who they were, and I still don't know who these people are.

[Expert]

The bandits were probably after the expected race car that they thought was in the trailer. Anybody down in Mexico gets accosted by what they think are law enforcement person or military personnel, and then they're held at gunpoint. They're placed in a ditch, face down, and guns held at them, at their heads. They're extremely lucky to be alive.

[Divinia]

I never felt it was over until I was home, in my own home.

[Deborah]

We were just so, so glad to be home.

[Chris]

I remember getting home just being thrilled to be home, happy to be around our dogs, but still worried because they had our driver's license, they had our address, they knew who we were.

[Deborah]

After we got home from Mexico, we had four people sleeping in our bed for a while.

[Divinia]

Once we did get home as a family, we went to go see a therapist.

[Chris]

Sleep. We don't sleep anymore. A couple hours here and a couple hours there. We don't get a peaceful night's sleep.

[Divinia]

I'd sleep maybe an hour to a night. Pretty much ran on energy drinks.

[Chris]

Nightmares all the time.

[Deborah]

I absolutely have nightmares. I honestly think that the men with the guns are in our house. And I will wake up screaming. And I don't even know what's happening.

[Chris]

Tyler. Tyler kind of went into his own little locked himself away kind of thing.

[Divinia]

Tyler wanted nothing to do with seeing a Therapist didn't like it.

[Deborah]

I would like to talk to Tyler about it. He's not comfortable with it.

[Divinia]

Tyler hates to discuss anything that happened down in Mexico.

[Deborah]

I think that Tyler is trying the hardest to ignore what happened. If you ignore it, maybe it'll just go away.

[Divinia]

The therapist and my parents both felt that I should go see a therapist on my own based off the fact that this is not my first traumatic experience.

[Chris]

When someone said, somebody's got a gun.

[Divinia]

I know exactly what I was wearing, and it's been eight years, and that sticks in my head every day. I think with any traumatic event, your personality changes. I don't know whether mine was for the good or for the worse.

[Deborah]

I think that Divinia was able to deal with the Mexico incident much better due to the shooting at Santana. She knows that she can be exposed to something that traumatic and come through okay. On the other side, I think that it's really hard on Chris.

[Chris]

I felt responsible for bringing him to Mexico, and I felt like I put him in that situation. Even if I had one gun, there were still eight to ten guys with guns. No matter how I look at this in different directions, the outcome would have been way worse than what it was.

[Deborah]

When he and I do discuss what happened, I say, had you been, you know, Mr. I'm macho dad, you know, rescuing my family, they probably would have killed you and killed us.

[Chris]

I guess what I did was right because my family's alive and nobody was hurt. But my mind sure seems like I could have done something different.

[Deborah]

We're all home and we're all together and we're all safe. And I really credit him with that. I'm at work. This person is obviously, you know, an official with the same. Calling me, he said, I regret to inform you that we found Chris's body in Tijuana. Your first reaction is to go, oh, my God. They were sure it was Chris because this man had his driver's license in his pocket. I hadn't talked to him in probably two and a half hours. I had to get ahold of Chris, and I called him at home.

[Divinia]

And.

[Deborah]

He was actually meeting with someone. He said, I'm in a meeting. Can I call you right back? Well, absolutely. Call me back. Don't call me back. I just needed to hear your voice. I call them back, leave a message. You have the wrong person. This is not my husband. Please don't call me back. The next day, I get a call from someone else within the State Department. They left me a voicemail, and they said, Mrs. Hall, we're so sorry for your loss. We'd really like to help you make arrangements to get your husband's body back across the border. I'm like, are you freaking kidding me with this? Don't they talk to each other? Third day, I get another call from the same person. Mrs. Hall, we understand that this is a stressful time. Can we help you make arrangements to get him back? And I was just. By this point, I'm not even frustrated anymore. I'm beyond that. And I called and left her a message. I said, you know what? I never liked him. Keep him. I don't care what you do with the body. They never called me back. I think things are getting better. It's getting back to normal. I don't know if it'll ever be normal, but it's absolutely getting better.

[Divinia]

Our experience has brought us together.

[Chris]

As time goes on, hopefully this will heal itself.

[Deborah]

We're a couple.

[Divinia]

My parents being younger parents are a lot of fun.

[Deborah]

I think as a family, we're definitely adventurous. We like to get out and see what there is to see.

[Chris]

We bought a boat. We all go the river together. That's our new place to go, I guess. We just had our 25th anniversary. We took our kids to Hawaii for.

[Divinia]

Their first time, and we had a lot of fun. I don't think there's anything that's gonna take the place of Mexico just because it's such a different world down there.

[Chris]

Even Tyler still talks about the happy times, still talks about his favorite burrito shop.

[Divinia]

There were so many times that were good that completely outweigh the bad.

[Chris]

And no, we've lost Mexico, and we won't go back and just leave it at that.

[Divinia]

It's just gonna have to be something that was once upon a time for us.

[Emma]

Get ready to laugh until it hurts.

[Expert]

You're gonna love this.

[Emma]

Novocaine is now streaming on Paramount. Plus, I got this condition.

[Expert]

I don't feel pain.

[Emma]

You're a superhero.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Emma]

It's an adrenaline rush of fun.

[Divinia]

This is the best.

[Emma]

And a bloody good time.

[Deborah]

Almost forgot the best part.

[Emma]

It's the first great action comedy of the year.

[Deborah]

Let the magic happen.

[Chris]

That's good.

[Expert]

Looking forward to it.

[Emma]

Novocame.

[Divinia]

Rated R. Now streaming on Paramount.

[Deborah]

Now streaming. When everything's on the line, real heroes.

[Chris]

Rise to the occasion.

[Deborah]

TV's hottest show is Fire Country.

[Chris]

We're firefighters.

[Emma]

We're gonna find a way to get.

[Expert]

You out of here.

[Emma]

We take the hits together.

[Deborah]

We're on the same team.

[Chris]

I'm right here with you no matter what.

[Emma]

I would never leave you hanging in the deep end. This place is a way of giving.

[Deborah]

You new family Fire Country. All episodes now streaming on Paramount plus.