CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Spring Break is just beginning, and the Coastal Bend is a hot spot.
But being so close to the border, some could be tempted to head drive a few hours south and head into Mexico.
Department of Public Safety officials tell 3NEWS they are telling Texans to fight that urge, in light of violence at the border.
"We want to remind people that are traveling to the beaches, coming down here, we recommend you not to go into Mexico,” he said. “Right now, it’s an increase in violence, increase in kidnappings, ya know? Don't go into Mexico if you don’t have to."
This comes after a powerful Mexican drug cartel took responsibility for kidnapping four Americans -- and killing two -- in Matamoros on March 3.
And those four aren't the only ones to have been reported missing recently.
Maritza Trinidad Perez Rios, 47, and Marina Perez Rios, 48, went into Mexico with their friend Dora Alicia Cervantes Saenz last month to sell clothes at a flea market. They have not been heard from since.
The Perez Rios sisters are from the border town of Peñitas, near McAllen, and Cervantes Saenz is a Mexican national.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.