I don't know how much weight I'd give to whatever his mother has to say. As to getting lost, it's most likely the lights.
When Lucrum says he wasn't in Mexico, he means the guy wasn't caught in Mexico (like Cancun or Mexico City, etc. He was "caught" at the border in trying to make a U turn, essentially.
The administration needs to talk to Nieto and get this kid home. Period. Don't listen to Lucrum. He's retarded. The kid never declared the weapons. He was allowed through the "nothing to declare" lanes and stopped by Mex customs officers.
Just curious, but where did you hear that he did not tell the authorities about the weapons? I'll admit there is something strange going on here - I would have just broken a traffic law in the US and turned the car around - even if I had to go against traffic with my hazards on.
It's my understanding that he had not cleared customs and was simply trying to turn around (from the story), and mentioned the guns because he knew they would find them.
San Diego local news-site, IIRC. I'll update with a link. I heard it on CNN that he passed the "nothing to declare" check on the US-side.
Here it is: If this is true (and I'm not sure how Sandiegored knows it is) then it certainly begs the question as to what the hell the guy was doing.
Obviously the kid is messed-up, but I don't think for a second that he intended any harm, regardless of how many mags and rounds he had in his possession. I also think he made an honest mistake complicated by the lies down the road, but it's not like they snatched him in La Jolla or he was carrying bibles. An AR, 12-gauge, 1911 and nearly 500rds. Sure, they could've said, "please go back with your arsenal" but it's not how any border operates. Let's get f*cking real here. Mexico is a f*cking sewer and a narco-state. I hope he makes it back asap.