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Tuesday, September 26, 2000

Skeleton washes up on National Seashore
Officials investigate whether find may be linked to missing Austin men
By Jeremy Schwartz and Dan Parker
Caller-Times
Officials are looking into the possibility that a human skeleton found at the Padre Island National Seashore belongs to one of three Austin fishermen who have been missing in the Gulf since Sept. 8.
   A passerby on Friday discovered the skeleton, which is in about 14 pieces including two femurs, a pelvis and most of a spine, and notified the Kleberg County Sheriff's Department. No skull, hands or lower legs were found.
   "We don't know if they are related or not," Capt. Rick Torres said.
   The skeleton has been turned over to the Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office, which also is investigating the origins of a severed leg that washed up on Mustang Island last week to see if it belongs to any of the fishermen.
   Ric Ortiz, chief investigator with the Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office, said officials know that the leg found Sept. 18 is not part of the skeleton that washed up Friday because the femurs that washed up Friday are intact. The leg that washed up Sept. 18 included a femur that had been severed a few inches above the kneecap.
   Ortiz said the possibility that the skeleton belongs to one of the three men is only being considered because it washed up after the fishermen were reported missing. The skeleton appears to be that of a man who was less than 60 years old and stood about 5 feet, 9 inches, Ortiz said.
   DNA tests could be done to see if the skeleton's DNA matches the DNA of the fishermen. Hair from a hairbrush could provide the match. But the decision on whether to do DNA tests will lie with a justice of the peace or a law enforcement agency, Ortiz said.
   Ortiz said he doesn't think the Medical Examiner's Office will be able to determine how the man died.
   "If we can't tell by the bones whether he's been shot or stabbed, we have no other way of knowing how he died," Ortiz said.
   The bones don't show any obvious signs of how the man was slain, Ortiz said.
   Daniel Gonzales, 35, Bud Robles, 43, and Larry Cardenas, 47, have been missing since departing Matagorda Bay on a deep sea fishing trip.
   Family members on Monday said they remain convinced the leg does not belong to any of the men because none wore a Nike Air Max, the sneaker that was on the leg's foot.
   Blanca Robles, Bud Robles' sister, said family members have not been contacted about the skeleton, but believe the body and the leg may belong to victims of other accidents in the Gulf.
   Robles said representatives of the three families will have a news conference at the Capitol in Austin today to discuss the case and ask that the Coast Guard reopen its search for the men and their boat.
   The Coast Guard launched a four-day search for the men Sept. 11 that covered 35,000 miles.
   The search was called off Sept. 14 after the Coast Guard found no traces of the men except for two coolers, one of which was tied to a shoe.
   Robles said some family members are wondering whether something sinister occurred. "This was a complete disappearance," Robles said. "We are considering the avenue of foul play."

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