Soldier missing after visit to Laredo

Associated Press: McALLEN, Texas -- The Army and FBI are searching for a South Texas soldier who may have been kidnapped during a visit to Laredo, on the U.S.-Mexico border.

J.C. Gonzalez, the brother of Pfc. James Gonzalez, 24, says the soldier has been missing for about a week. He says the FBI told the family that the Army had received a call demanding a $100,000 ransom and a demand that all soldiers be withdrawn from the border.

Gonzalez, a soldier at Fort Hood in central Texas, failed to return to base July 13 as scheduled. He had told his family in Robstown two days earlier he was headed to Laredo to hang out with friends before returning to base.

About 575 National Guard troops remain on the border, but the thousands that had been patrolling the area withdrew last year.