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North Carolina teacher killed in Mexico, officials say

By Clyde Hughes
North Carolina teacher Patrick Braxton-Andrew was found dead in Mexico last week, authorities said. Photo courtesy Braxton-Andrew family/Facebook
North Carolina teacher Patrick Braxton-Andrew was found dead in Mexico last week, authorities said. Photo courtesy Braxton-Andrew family/Facebook

Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The body of a North Carolina school teacher who was missing for nearly a month in Mexico has been recovered, the governor in the Mexican state of Chihuahua said.

Patrick Braxton-Andrew, who taught Spanish at Woodlawn School in Mooresville, N.C., was killed Oct. 28 by a drug dealer known as "The Crooked," according to a Facebook page post.

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Braxton-Andrew, 34, was killed while leaving his hotel, Chihuahua Gov. Javier Corral Jurado wrote in the post. He was last seen at a hotel in Urique, a former mining town at the base of canyons in the Copper Canyon National Park in southwest Chihuahua.

Jurado said Braxton-Andrew's death was an act of "cowardice" and the government needs to end the power of the Sinaloa Cartel in the area. He called the teacher a "clean" person who did not appear to be connected in drugs.

The governor said he spoke to Braxton-Andrew's father and vowed to find those responsible. The Facebook post was not clear if Jurado believed the drug dealer or one of his associates actually killed the teacher.

The family of Braxton-Andrew, a graduate of Davidson College. said a memorial service will be held once his body has been returned, The Charlotte Observer reported.

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"We are very, very proud of Patrick, and of the way he lived," mother Jean Braxton told the newspaper. "He did what he wanted to do. He followed his path."

North Carolina U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis said on social media federal officials in the U.S. and Mexico are working to find those responsible.

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