Dolores and Charles Vesely are two Winter Texans who just wrapped up an afternoon of shopping on Friday in Nuevo Progreso.
They were oblivious to the multiple government warnings for Americans to avoid non-essential travel across the border.
"We talked to the people in our park and they said they've been coming down here all the time and had no problems," Dolores said.
Rio Grande Valley missionary Nancy Davis was killed Wednesday in Mexico.
The 59-year-old Monte Alto woman was shot in the head during a botched carjacking on a highway 70 miles south of the border near San Fernando.
The Veselys just started their month-long trip to the Valley from Iowa on Thursday and said they had not heard about the heightened danger.
"I got my hair cut and toes cut,” Charles said. “And I got a pedicure and manicure just like we always do when we come down here," Dolores added.
None of the agencies that issued the warnings to avoid travel in Mexico, sugar-coated their message.
The American Consulate in Matamoros called for only “essential travel,” while the Texas Department of Public Safety warned how Winter Texas safety “cannot be guaranteed.”
And despite five warnings in the past year by the DPS, some winter Texans said they weren’t fully convinced of the danger.
“If the government says don't do it... I want to do it.”
Take Gus Emmer from Missouri for example.
He and his wife Judy Emmer are aware of the violence but feel their stroll just a few blocks in won't put them in the path of danger.
"I feel very safe over the there,” Gus said. “I asked the residents if they're having any problems... they said no problems... come on over... we've been there 9 times in 3 weeks."
While foot traffic continues across the bridge, the Veselys said they won’t be a part of it anymore.
“I think if they said ‘stay out’... I'd stay out," Dolores said.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKGBT