Crouched in the seat of her Jet Ski, Tiffany Young-Hartley tried to pull the body of her husband, David, from the waters of Falcon Lake on the Texas-Mexico border after he was shot by pirates.

But gunfire forced the former Loveland resident to turn around and race to the American side of the lake Thursday afternoon.

"You could feel the bullets," said Tiffany on Friday, the day after her husband, David Hartley, also formerly of Loveland, was killed.

"You could feel them shoot by you."

Devastated by the loss of her husband of eight years, Tiffany breaks down when talking about the horrific afternoon that came just a week before the couple planned to move back to Loveland.

But she wants to talk about it, to make people aware of the border violence and to inspire change.

"We were just tourists looking at a church," she said. "I want (the violence) to stop. It's stupid.

"The U.S. needs to tighten up on their borders. They need to get more people down here working on their border."

And Mexico needs to do the same, Tiffany said.

Tiffany Young and David Hartley met as teenagers in Loveland and married in 2002. Two years ago, they moved to Texas after David secured a job with Calfrac Well Services, working over the border in Mexico.

The couple, tired of the violence along the border, recently decided to move home, said Tiffany's uncle.

David received a transfer, and they planned to return to Loveland next Friday and eventually settle here, Greeley or Brighton, Tiffany said.


But before the move, the couple decided to take their Jet Skis out on Falcon Lake to see the ruins of a Mexican ghost town called Old Guerrero.

Known as "The Atlantis of the Southwest," much of the city is covered by the lake, but the bell tower atop the old church is still visible above the water.

"My husband loves history," Tiffany said.

"He wanted to go see the church. It is older than the United States."

David and Tiffany took pictures of the church and were headed back to shore when they spotted three boats of Mexican pirates, said friend Ted Burns. Each boat had at least three outlaws, who opened fire on the couple.

A bullet hit David in the head and knocked him into the water, Burns said.

The bullets stopped flying for a moment, and Tiffany turned back to David.

"She amazingly returned to where he was and tried to get him on her Jet Ski," Burns said.

But before Tiffany could pull David's body from the water, the spray of gunfire resumed. She was forced to leave and race to the American shore for help, making it through the gunfire safely.

Now, surrounded by family and friends, Tiffany is waiting, hoping and praying that authorities will find David's body so she can bring him home to Loveland.

American authorities were searching the lake Friday and seeking help from the Mexican government - help that Burns said was not forthcoming enough.

"We just need to be praying that we find him," Tiffany said.

Both Tiffany's and David's families still live in Northern Colorado, including his parents, Pam Hartley of Loveland and David Hartley of Milliken.

"He loved life," Tiffany said, her voice choked with tears. "We loved traveling. We had just gotten back from Key West on a vacation.

"He was a man that loved life and loved all his friends and family."