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(CNN) - When three mothers and six of their children were killed during an ambush in Mexico, they went to visit their families.
The three cars in which women were transported and 14 children were traveling between the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua on Monday when, according to authorities, members of a criminal group - possibly a cartel - attacked them. Authorities say the attack might have aimed at them.
MIRA: The latest news about the attack on the LeBarón family in northern Mexico
Members of a Mormon agricultural community, who had dual citizenship, American and Mexican, were shot in their cars and burned alive, said Alex LeBarón, one of the family members.
The victims were aged between 8 months to 43 years.
Four children from the same family were killed
Rhonita Marie Miller, 30, was driving with some of her seven children to Arizona to pick up her husband, Howard, who was in the United States for work, according to her sister-in-law Kendra Lee Miller.
This photo shows Howard Jackob Miller, Jr., Rhonita Maria Miller, the twins Titus Alvin and Tiana Griciel Miller, and Krystal Bellaine Miller, who died in the attack. Howard Miller, the adult man in the picture, is alive and is not believed to have been present in the attack.
During the trip, her car had a flat tire so she decided to leave it there and change to another family vehicle to continue her journey with her children, Kendra explained.
"My brother was repairing Rhonita's broken car, he saw a fire, but he didn't think anything," Kendra Lee Miller said.
But that fire and the explosion it produced came from the three vehicles in which families traveled.
READ: "The posters have been taken to too many members of our family," says LeBarón relative
“My father, Andre, and a couple of uncles and relatives went to check the vehicle. All they found were burnt remains, ashes and bones, ”Kendra explained.
Rhonita died in the attack with her 8-month-old twins, Titus Alvin Miller and Tiana Gricel Miller and their children Howard Jacob Miller Jr., 12, and Krystal Bellaine Miller, 10.
The family planned to attend Kendra's wedding next week in La Mora, the future bride said.
A surviving child hid his brothers in the bushes
Dawna Ray Langford, 43, was driving the second car 16 kilometers ahead to visit her family in Chihuahua with her nine children, Kendra Lee Miller said in a statement posted on Facebook.
Dawna Ray Langford with her son, Trevor, who died in the attack.
She was shot dead with two of her children: Trevor Harvey Langford, 11, and Rogan Jay Langford, 2.
After witnessing the death of his mother, Trevor and Rogan, Devin Blake Langford, 13, hid his six surviving brothers in bushes and covered them with branches, Kendra Lee Miller said in the publication. He then walked 14 miles to the community of La Mora and reported the attack, Lee Miller added.
“Devin's uncles armed themselves and went to the place to try to find the hidden children, knowing that many of them were injured. They did not get very far before realizing that they risked to die, since for hours continuous shots were recorded in the mountains near La Mora, ”wrote Kendra Lee Miller.
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Five of the six children that Devin hid were taken to a local hospital and then transferred to the United States. The sixth girl, Devin's 9-year-old sister, disappeared after she left the place in a second attempt to seek help.
Family members and Mexican soldiers found the child after searching the area for approximately two hours, Kendra Lee Miller said.
Baby protected by his mother
Christina Marie Langford Johnson drove the third car with her 7-month-old baby to meet her husband and the rest of her children, as they were moving to North Dakota. His car was close to Dawna Langford's.
Christina Marie Langford, who died in the attack.
Johnson also died in the attack.
His little daughter, however, was found alive and wounded in the car full of bullet holes. Witnesses said they found her in the baby's car seat and it seemed her mother moved her to the ground to try to protect her, Kendra Lee Miller said.
Nicole Chavez, Samantha Beech, Ana Melgar and Gianluca Mezzofiore of CNN contributed to this report.
ChihuahuaFamily LeBarónLeBarónMasacreSonora
