If it's an actual recall (as opposed to a TSB) you should have received something in the mail. You should also be able to look up recalls on online as well.
That said, my wife has the same year Escape, also with the 2 liter. We didn't get anything in the mail and I haven't heard about this before. Not saying that makes it untrue, but you're right to be wary.
And by the way, it's been an amazingly reliable vehicle. We bought it about 4 years with 50K miles and other that spending about $200 something to get a bad splice in the harness fixed to correct an occasional rough idle (that one was a TSB) I've done nothing but oil changes, tires, one set of rear pads and a battery. It now has about 120K on the clock and has really exceeded my expectations.