A police officer working on the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge made an unusual find when he popped the trunk of a car headed into Mexico and discovered a man handcuffed and gagged with tape.

“We usually find firearms or currency or narcotics or wanted subjects,” Hidalgo police Capt. Robert Vela said. “But never a guy in a trunk.”

At about 2:15 a.m. Tuesday, the officer, stationed at the bridge to protect city toll booth workers and look for contraband, became suspicious when a young man driving into Mexico seemed nervous, Vela said.

“The officer found the individual to be very nervous. He heard what seemed to be thumping noises coming from the rear of the vehicle. As he spoke to the individual, the thumping noises seemed to be getting louder.”

The officer called for backup and “asked if anyone was in there,” Vela said. “They heard someone mumbling inside, kicking the trunk.”

Inside, they found an apparent kidnapping victim. The juvenile — police wouldn't give his age — was taken into custody and the victim declined medical attention, Vela said. There was no indication the victim had been beaten, he said.

Vela declined to give more information.

This incident happened two days after a suspected kidnapper and a Hidalgo County deputy were wounded in a shootout Sunday near Edinburg.

The deputy is expected to recover, and three people have been charged with two counts each of attempted capital murder and three counts each of aggravated kidnapping. Two young children were among those kidnapped in what Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said was his jurisdiction's first incident of spillover violence.

Local gang members hired by the Gulf Cartel to find a load of lost marijuana had posed as drug buyers, purchasing a small amount to confirm it came from the stash they were looking for, Treviño said. Not knowing where the stash house was, the men asked to buy another amount. When a couple with their two children showed up, they kidnapped the whole group at gunpoint, he said.

Some of those kidnapped were told to drive their vehicle to the stash house, Treviño said, but they managed to escape and called sheriff's deputies. The shootout occurred when deputies pulled over the suspected kidnappers.

A suspect wounded in the shootout is expected to survive, the sheriff's department said. Deputy Hugo Rodriguez, 33, is in stable condition and Daniel Gonzalez Perez of Rio Bravo, Mexico, was killed.

More Information Hidalgo sheriff says shooting 'spillover' from drug war See More Collapse

Staff Writer Lynn Brezosky contributed to this report.

As originally published, this story contained errors.