( CNN ) -- A Mexican beauty queen was killed during a weekend shootout in Sinaloa , a northern state known for drug-fueled violence , authorities said Monday . Maria Susana Flores Gamez , 20 , was the 2012 Woman of Sinaloa . She was killed Saturday in a gun battle between military troops and suspected criminals in the municipality of Mocorito . Two others were also killed . Sinaloa State Attorney General Marco Antonio Higuera said a rifle was found near the beauty queen 's body , but it was not clear whether she had fired it . It was also not clear who shot her . `` All we know is that it happened during a confrontation that the army had with criminals , and that she was with the group of criminals , '' he told reporters , according to a transcript from his office . Four people were detained , he said , and authorities seized various weapons , drugs and vehicles . Flores Gamez was a student of communications . She was crowned Woman of Sinaloa in February , beating more than a dozen young women for the title . In addition to the Woman of Sinaloa pageant , Flores Gamez had participated in the 2012 Our Sinaloa Beauty contest . Organizers of that pageant released a statement upon news of her death , offering condolences to the family , which received her body Monday . `` We are dismayed by the news -- a beautiful young person , happy , and with a big future ahead of her , `` the pageant organizers said . `` Rest in peace Susy . '' The beauty queen is not the first in Mexico to make headlines for something other than her good looks . In 2008 , Laura Zuniga , who was then the reigning Our Sinaloa Beauty , was taken into custody along with seven men . They had been traveling in two vehicles that contained AR-15 assault rifles , 38 specials , 9mm handguns , cartridges and $ 50,000 in cash , Luis Carlos Najera Gutierrez de Velazco , secretary of public security for the state of Jalisco , said then . She was subsequently released . More than 47,500 people have died across Mexico in drug-related violence since December 2006 , when President Felipe Calderon took office and announced plans to deploy federal troops to help the government 's fight against organized crime . According to Mexico 's National Human Rights Commission , more than 5,300 people have disappeared throughout the country in that same time , and the bodies of 9,000 dead have not been identified . Police in Arizona arrest 20 , dismantle drug trafficking cell of Sinaloa Cartel . Texas grand jury indicts Sinaloa cartel leaders . Sinaloa cartel members named kingpins . Eight bodies found in northern state of Chihuahua . CNNMexico.com contributed to this report .
Police seize vehicles , weapons and drugs ; five people are detained . Maria Susana García García , 20 , was crowned Wonder Woman of Sinaloa in 2012 . A rifle was found near the beauty queen 's body , says the Sinaloa state attorney general .