Couple says they were carjacked at gunpoint in Mexico

SANTA CRUZ, California -- A couple says they are glad to be back home safe after they were carjacked at gunpoint earlier this month in Mexico.

Chug and Lalita Kirkman were visiting Lalita's parents in Mexico when it happened.

The Kirkmans told KRON that they were traveling from their property in the state of Guerrero to her parents' house in Michoacan.

"All of a sudden a red Honda CRV comes up on the left looking out the window, and there's just... you know, staring down the barrel of two AK-47s just tapping the window," Chug said.

The couple claims that four men demanded everything, taking their phones, wallets and bags.

The men then drove off in their truck, which was towing their parents' Jeep. They also had to say goodbye to a dog that belonged to Lalita's mom.

A stranger gave them a ride back to a toll plaza they passed earlier, but the Kirkmans say they received no help from the workers.

Lalita's uncle eventually picked them up and brought them back to her parents' house.

They ended up taking a bus to the U.S. embassy and received emergency passports, which cost $400.

The Kirkmans called their temple back home in California. Someone there was able to send them the money to pay for the passports through someone at a temple in Mexico.

The couple also told KRON they feel their own government let them down with the crime, which they tried to report in both the U.S. and Mexico.

"At this point, I'm not thinking about going back," Lalita said. "I need to recuperate from that and maybe give it a couple of years."