And stand up for heroes. Honoring our Wounded Warriors and their families. But first, the nightline five. Good evening. Thanks for joining us. American families mourning after a brutal massacre. Three mothers and six of their children killed. Caught up in the crossfire of mexicos drug wars. But also tonight, incredible stories of survivors, including the smalliest of all yaw mass llamas is in mexico. Reporter horror in a remote mexican town. Nita and five of my grandchildren are burnt, shot up. Reporter this is the aftermath of a brutal massacre that claimed the lives of three american women and six children, including eight month old twins titus and tee anna. I believe they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Reporter they were traveling with their children in three separate vehicles. 17 people in all. The family had plans to sbrat a celebrate a wedding this weekend. Traveling south of the u. S. Border. This is narco territory. Mexican officials believe they were caught in the cross hairs of cartel violence, saying that a criminal gang confused them with a group aligned with the sinaloa cartel. More than 200 rounds were fired at the women and children. Miraculously, some of the children survived, like christina langfords baby. After hours and hours of being alone by herself in the car, they were able to find her. Reporter one of christinas relatives showed us this video of when baby faith was found. I walked around the vehicle and opened the door, and there was a car seat. And there was a bullet hole through the canopy on the car seat. We opened the canopy, and the baby was smilin at us. Reporter one of the vehicles was burned. The remains and her children inside. Theres no way you can wrap your head around it. Reporter woun one of the re the drug cartels are prevalent is because its remote. Its not too far from the border. But getting here is difficult. There are neverending winding roads. The families belonged to a fundamentalist mormon community. They had dual citizenship in the u. S. And mexico. I think im still in shock that Something Like this happened to my family, like these are things i see in movies, not in life. Reporter relatives say at one point, christina got out of her vehicle with her hands up, but the gunman shot her anyway, point blank in the chest. Eight children survived. Some thanks to 13 year old devon Blake Langford who was able to save several siblings who had been shot. He hid them in a bush on the side of the road, told them to stay, and he ran all the way back home. I think they said it was like ten or more miles that he walked. Reporter those rescued children were taken vie yeah helicopt helicopter to a hospital in mexico. Kendra is the sisterinlaw. It was her wedding the families were planning to celebrate this weekend. I really cant say enough how horrified i am and we all are at these people that, i mean, that they could commit such horrible atrocities. Reporter President Trump tweeting if mexico needs or wants help in cleaning out these monsters, the United States stands willing, ready and able to get the job done quickly and effectively. But mexicos president says they will handle this alone, vowing justice. I would love for someone to be held accountable. But i dont know that thats going to happen. Reporter mexican authorities are honing in on a criminal group. One of the experts we spoke to say the closest military base is three hours away, and there arent too Many Police Officers to guard this area, and thats why the cartels feel they can run rampant and do whatever they want. A Family Member in arizona says shes afraid to travel to mexico for the funerals. Its devastating that i cant even be at this funeral for my loved ones. Because of the dangerous situation. Reporter mormons have a long history in mexico. Christina rossetti studies the religion. In the 1890s, mormons began traveling to mexico to practice polygamy. Reporter most that do arent affiliated with the lds church in the u. S. Mormonism has split into different factions and communities. A lot of people have relatives who were at one point in the mexican colonies. And that includes even mitt romney. Reporter this weeks violence isnt the first time this family has faced horrible situations as a result of the drug wars. In 2009, a man named benjamin labaron was murdered by a cartel. Reporter he was an anticrime activist, killed by a gang of armed men. His brother spoke to the Associated Press about the increasing cartel violence. [ speaking in spanish ] theyre all going to be buried in mexico . Reporter we caught up with julio as he mourns this new loss. Did you ever think the violence would reach this level . Not really. I dont think anybody can imagine. What kind of men can call themselves men that murder women and children . Theres been some talk amongst my uncles, amongst my Family Living here of thinking about moving out. Its starting to escalate. Reporter according to justice in mex kpico, a researc initiative, about a third to half of mexicos homicides since 2006 can be attributed to organized crime groups, especially Drug Trafficking organizations. Cartels have such a strong presence, its especially dangerous for americans to go in as tourists. Reporter last month, Mexican Security forces were outgunned by a drug cartel. This body cam shows them pleading with the son of el chapo. Theyre like the government of mexico, sometimes more powerful than the government. We saw a recent example where el chapos son was released because they feared violence. Anytime a government relents and basically says to the bad guys, youre the ones in charge, thats a big problem. Reporter last year, my colleague dan harris spent time embedded with the sinaloa cartel. They are largely in control. Dan met with the men who believe they are true authorities here. So they are pretty eager to show how wellarmed they are. See, thats a grenade. Reporter they showed off their weaponry, much of it american made. Off to the side, the commander gave dan bracing insights as to what his job actually entails. Just to be clear, your job entails killing people sometimes. Reporter yes, he says. Does that take a toll on you psychologically . Reporter he says the first time it did, but not anymore. Ill never forget the first time. Reporter the Mexican Government has broken up many of the cartels. But that has only fueled the skyrocketing violence with smaller gangs competing to fill the vacuum. Every couple years, the Mexican Police find mass graves, hundreds of people buried. Theres more mass graves out there of people who are just forgotten victims of the drug war. Reporter violence that is a cost for all too many families having to say goodbye to loved ones. Whats your message to the cartels . To the cartels . Honestly, i dont have a message for the cartels, but i do have a message for the mexican people, theres 120 million of us. We have had so much violence in our country. We need to come together and stop being divided by politics. Reporter for nightline, tom llamas in northwest mexico. Up next, she relied on the kindness of strangers. Now cops say she duped them with her phony cancer diagnosis. Things are getting clearer, yeah i feel free to bare my skin yeah thats all me. Nothing and me go hand in hand nothing on my skin thats my new plan. Nothing is everything. Keep your skin clearer with skyrizi. 3 out of 4 people achieved 90 clearer skin at 4 months. Of those, nearly 9 out of 10 sustained it through 1 year. And skyrizi is 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. I see nothing in a different way and its my moment so i just gotta say nothing is everything skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. Before treatment your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms such as fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches or coughs, or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. Nothing is everything ask your dermatologist about skyrizi. How do you make red lobsters you bring back Nashville Hot oh yeah its back. Crispy shrimp. Tossed in a spicy rub. And drizzled with sweet amber honey. More shrimp more ways. Endless shrimps fifteen ninety nine. Hurry, it ends november 17th struggling to clean tough messes with wipes . Try mr. Clean magic eraser sheets. Just wet, squeeze and erase icky messes in microwaves and on stovetops for an amazing clean, get the power of mr. Clean magic eraser in disposable sheets. Hey, shaq. Its a 30 second tour. 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Jessica ann smith, a mother and fitness buff said she was battling cancer at just 32 years old but was rallying support, encouraging friends and family to fight like a jessica. With medical bills piling up, supporters answered the call, raising over 10,000 on go fund my and facebo me and facebook to help. People are coming out of the wood work to help. Which will restore anyones faith in humanity. Reporter but investigators say it was all a lie, perpetuated by smith to dupe Good Samaritans into giving herman for a disease she didnt have, a hoax that led to her arrest. She made people believe she had a very serious cancer diagnosis. The fact is, she didnt have cancer. Reporter it started in june when smith told friends she was facing a mountain of medical bills while battling colon cancer. Donations started pouring in. The sad type of these fund raising scams is they are preying upon peoples hearts in the most sad and vulnerable ways. And because of our charitablity we become the biggest of victims. Reporter her story gained added attention in july when she was invited to speak about her diagnosis on the podcast the ever evolving truth. The doctor is taking my history, as hes looking at my blood work and hes like, i really think you have colon cancer. Reporter jeff berg and Terry Coleman work with the podcast. She was going through this check list, and it was almost too perfect. She was very nondestrength with her diagnosis and treatment and used very vague language. People have tried to say im scamming people. If anyone straight up said i think youre faking this, i would literally say okay youre coming to chemo with me on monday. Reporter she reappeared on the podcast four days later, taking aim at the people accusing her of lying. Here is my fitness for duty form, with the word cancer on it. Reporter smith stood by her story, but what she didnt know is police were already investigating after her own husband came forward telling them he did not believe his wife had cancer. Her second interview is where it kind of derailed. We didnt know how we going to find it all the time, but we were like, we cant believe shes actually doing this. Reporter according to police, jessicas story began to unravel, her doctor said those photos which she said were chemotherapy were an iron infusion for anemia. When they tried to verify her claims of having surgery, the doctor smith claimed operated on her wasnt even in the hospital at the time. And that smith was never a patient. Jessicas worst enemy is herself. On another occasion she went onto the media, proclaiming the sickness of this very rare, hereditary colon cancer. Reporter while crowdsourcing websites have raised billions for noble causes around the world, smith is not the first person accused of taking advantage of peoples goodwill. Shes in reporter the bucket list went viral in 2017. Her story even made its way to the makeawish foundation. 7yearold olivia died from what her mother claimed was pa rare disease, but Authorities Say it was all a lie. The first child dies. The mother then induces illness on yet another child so she can continue this fraud, continue getting attention. Reporter turner was indicted on murder and 11 other charges, including receiving fraudulent medicaid payment and theft associated with a gofundme account. Her case is pending. I was driving down 95 and ran out of gas. So i pulled over onto the side of the road. Reporter and last year, kate mcclures seemingly heartwarming story went viral. She says she was stranded on the sides of the road when Johnny Bobbitt spent his last 20 to buy her gas. She needed the help, she took the help. Reporter with the title paying it forward, the go fund me page raised more than 400,000. Like winning the lottery. Reporter but the ruse unravelled in a shocking twist. The entire campaign was predicated on a lie. Reporter Authorities Say it was all a coordinated scam from the start. The cover photo on the page staged. They say all three were in on the elaborate hoax. They conspired to pass off a fake, feelgood story that would compel donors to contribute the to their cause. Reporter mcclure and bobbitt both pled guilty in federal court. Those three really ruined it for people who really need the help. Reporter in her podcast interview, Jessica Smith criticizes the tree yio, blamin them for making it difficult for those who actually need to raise money, but soon it was smiths fundraisers owing refunds after her efforts were shut down. The fundraiser violated their terms, they say, and that refunds will be processed for all donors, and go fund me says they will refund all donors. Meanwhile, smith is facing separate charges in delaware for criminal impersonation of a Law Enforcement officer. She took advantage of peoples generosity, and everyones worst fear of a cancer diagnosis to get money for herself. Reporter for nightline, diane macedo in new york. Up next, a night of hope, celebrating the men and women who answer the call of duty. Performance comes in lots of flavors. Theres the ampedup, overtuned, feedingfrenzyof sheetmetalkind. And then theres performance that just leaves you feeling better as a result. Thats the kind lincolns about. Upbeat musieverything was so fresh in the beginning. [sniff] dramatic music but that plug quickly faded. Upbeat music luckily theres febreze plug. It cleans away odors and freshens for 1200 hours. [deep inhale] breathe happy with febreze plug. Its jcpenneys biggest sale of shop coats for the family. 12. 99 mens and womens tops. 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And finally tonight, saluting our heroes. Heres abcs stephanie ramos. Reporter this is retired army major pete way. He served america proudly for 20 years. While on a tour in afghanistan, he experienced an injury that required a leg amputation. After more than 30 surgeries and physical therapy, it was sports that motivated him, competing in Paralympic Cross country skiing to Mountain Biking to push him to bring sports to other veterans, starting a program called fight on. We are with him for a big night. Its nice to be recognized for the hard work ive put in. Its not just for me. Its for everybody. Its for the guys ive been with. In combat, its for the guys ive been with in recovery to the guys who are still recovering from wounds. Reporter pete is headed to Madison Square garden for the standup for heroes event started by the bob woodruff organization. It featured a powerful duet with sheryl crow and bruce springsteen, and laughs when john oliver and jon stewart hit the stage. We havent ye years, i know that i look like this now. So dont reporter this special night for service members, veterans and their families, like major pete way. Part of it is that people have to know this is still going on. I mean, because theres not that much reporting, but there are still huge needs for those who have served our country. We always think about the petes of the world. And we need to think about the petes of the world, but behind the petes of the world is usually a family. Reporter their dedication to the woodruff foundation, raising more than 5. 7 million this year alone. I want to say thank you for this, for all that it means and all its going to do and continue to do for me and my fellow warriors as we continue to recover. Reporter a night to honor those who answer americas call. Our thanks to stephanie r ramos, bob and lee woodruff and all of our veterans. You can always catch our full episodes on hulu. Thanks for staying up with us. Goodnight, america