By HEATHER CATHLEEN COX
Special to the PRESS
Texas Rangers created a composite sketch of an unidentified woman whose corpse was found buried in the South Padre Island sands earlier this month, which was released by the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday.
Five miles north of Beach Access 6, on October 10, a passerby discovered the woman’s body which was reportedly buried underneath two feet of sand and surrounded by coyotes. Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio estimates the woman’s age could range anywhere from 18 to 50, with information from a pathologist leaning toward the higher end of the estimate.
Lucio stated, “We’re waiting to get back the toxicology report on whether she was drinking or had any conditions or diseases. In the meantime, we’re still treating it as a homicide until we get more information from the pathologist.” Lucio said complete autopsy results could take longer than two months to obtain, and until results conclude otherwise, this case will be investigated as a homicide.
Additional information indicates she might be Hispanic.
The woman’s body was found shortly after the corpse of Jeremy Tyrone Eyster, of Irving, washed to shore with a bullet hole through the head. “There’s nothing to link her to Eyster. We did check (with Irving authorities) about any missing females fitting this woman’s description, but there was nothing,” said Lucio.
Additionally, Lucio added, “The female appeared to have been there probably days before Eyster’s body was found. She had been dead 12 days or longer, according to what we know so far.”
The female victim is the second of three bodies found dead recently near Gulf waters, though it remains the only unidentified corpse.
Also north of Access 6, on September 29, the first body was discovered and was identified through U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement fingerprint technology as the remains of 33-year-old Eyster. Michael Lonnie McPeak, 65, of Port Isabel was found floating in the Laguna Madre on October 12. Video surveillance shows McPeak falling from a bridge on October 9 though conclusive pathology results indicating cause of death or possible foul play have not been released.
Although a combined total of three dead bodies surfaced in a small area within a time span of two weeks, at this time, investigators are not assuming any of the three cases are linked.
Regarding the woman’s corpse, Lucio mentioned, “Some people have called…so we’re checking those leads, but it’s kind of hard [with] just a composite. At least people know what that particular person looks like. Hopefully we’ll identify her.”
He further explained, “The only thing [pathologists] could tell is that they couldn’t see any trauma to any part of the body or broken bones, which makes it a little more difficult” to discern the cause of death.
Those who may recognize the woman from the composite photo and/or be able to provide identifying information for any of the aforementioned cases are encouraged to call the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department at (956) 554-6700.
Read this story in the Oct. 25 edition of the Port Isabel-South Padre Press, or subscribe to our E-Edition by clicking here.
Comments