A woman who was kidnapped , held for ransom and driven to an area near the Mexican border has opened up about her traumatic experience . Ana Elizondo made headlines in 2012 after she was kidnapped from a parking lot when she was leaving a night class at the University of Texas , Pan American . The psychology graduate student , 27 , was blindfolded and transported through several cars as her abductors made a failed attempt to cross the Mexican border . Ana Elizondo made headlines in 2012 after she was kidnapped from a parking lot as she was leaving a class at University of Texas , Pan American . She was released unharmed the following day after one of the kidnappers introduced her to his mother who helped her escape to another location . She escaped the hands of her captors the following day unharmed and said she tried to keep in good spirits for much of the time she was kidnapped . Miguel Angel Cruz Navarro was reportedly the ringleader of the kidnapping . He was sentenced to 34 years in prison in 2014 . On Tuesday she will open up about her experiences on the popular true crime documentary show House of Horrors : Kidnapped on Investigation Discovery . Elizondo has said in prior interviews that she was determined to look strong throughout the kidnapping , according to the Panamerican Online . She said in 2013 : ' ( I thought ) which one of these guys is going to rape me ? All these thoughts were going through my head . ' I was very kind to them . I cracked jokes with them to get out of the situation mentally . 'They saw me as a good person and I think that 's why I was n't physically harmed or raped or anything like that . ' An investigation revealed that Elizondo was targeted by the kidnappers because her father was a well-known wealthy business man in the area , according to The Inquisitr . The men demanded a $ 160,000 ransom when they first called Elizondo 's father . She was told by the kidnappers that her father lived a secret life and sold alcohol and cigarettes to the Mexican drug cartel . But eventually , one of the kidnappers introduced Elizondo to his mother , who helped her escape to another location where her parents could reach her . The kidnappers , named as Milton Treviño , Miguel Angel Cruz Navarro , 35 , and Onan Herrera-Sanchez , 28 , were all arrested . Investigators revealed the Elizondo was targeted because her father was a wealthy and well-known businessman in the area . The kidnappers demanded a $ 160,000 when they first reached out to the psychology graduate student 's father . Investigators said that Treviño , Herrera-Sanchez and Navarro 's wife Elva Navarro were responsible for taking Elizondo from the parking lot . Navarro , who was supposedly the ringleader of the operation , was sentenced to 34 years in prison in April 2014 , according to FOX Rio . Treviño , who pleaded guilty in the case in 2013 was sentenced to ten years in prison and Herrera-Sanchez was sentenced to 20 years . Elva Navarro was sentenced to three years in December 2014 to three years for her role at a spa that injected women with a deadly fake botox , according to Valley Central . She is still facing kidnapping charges , among others .
Ana Elizondo was kidnapped in 2012 as she was leaving a night class at Pan American , the University of Texas . Captors transported her through cars and tried to cross Mexican border . She was released unharmed the following day by one of the kidnappers . She believes she stayed safe by being friendly and joking with kidnappers . Her experience will be featured on a crime documentary show Tuesday .