The Americans were found Tuesday morning in a wooden house close to an area called La Lagunona in Matamoros, Villarreal said Tuesday.  

Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica tweeted that the Americans were found by “joint search actions.”

Villarreal said the Americans had been transported to various places, including a clinic, “to create confusion and to interrupt the rescue work.”

An investigation to catch other suspects continues, he said. 

NBC 2 Americans kidnapped in Mexico are dead and 2 others are alive, official says