Police in New Mexico are searching for two teenagers who were last seen "bloodied and beaten" in a Snapchat video almost two weeks ago.
Collin Romero, 15, and Ahmed Lateef, 14, went missing on December 16 after allegedly being brutally attacked in West Mese.
Authorities have claimed they believe the two young men may have been involved in a drug deal gone wrong, but no solid information has been released about the details of their disappearance.
Collin's mother Amanda Kimbrel has claimed a Snapchat video circulating online shows the two teenagers injured but the company's bosses refuse to share the footage with them.
"They were being beaten very, very brutally, pistol-whipped," Kimbrel said. "Snapchat has this information and they are refusing to hand it over."
She alleged that authorities have served Snapchat with a warrant asking it to turn over the footage.
Collin’s grandmother, Kelen Kimbrell also reportedly told news station KRQE that there is a similarly concerning picture of the pair.
"We’ve been told there’s a photo of the boys in the backseat of the car, with a man in the middle holding them as if they are trophies," she said.
Representatives for Snapchat have not yet responded to requests for comment on the matter.
The boys’ families — who spent Christmas Day searching for them — have opened up about spending the holiday season without them, with Collin's mother claiming that it is "not right".
"It's just not right to celebrate Christmas with them out here," said Amanda Kimbrel. "Christmas doesn't matter to me right now it's not on my priority list."
She continued: "I had so many plans for this Christmas. This was the first Christmas I could really afford to do a lot. I had the Christmas tree up and lights, my son always wanted me to do stuff like that but, money was always an issue. This is the first time it wasn't and he doesn't get to see any of it."
Kimbrel also implored the local community to help her find her son, saying: "We’re really asking for the younger community to take this seriously. We’re concerned with their whereabouts, not who did this or why."
In the two weeks following their disappearance, dozens of volunteers have reportedly joined search parties in efforts to find Collin and Ahmed.
Commenting on the case, officer Simon Drobik with the Albuquerque Police Department stated: "We've mobilized pretty much the entire department in different divisions to help assist with this missing persons investigation."
Both families are urging anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers at 505-843-7867.
A search group has also been set up on Facebook. Join the group to contribute to the search.
