Thread: Body of illegal alien found after week-long search

Published: 08.14.2006

Body of man shot to death in desert found after week-long search
By Alexis Huicochea
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
A man who authorities believe was trying to steal drugs in the desert near Tumacacori was shot to death, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department said Monday.

Authorities recovered the body of Luis Eduardo Gil-Baez, 26, of Sinaloa, Mexico, on Saturday, after searching for him for nearly a week, Sheriff Tony Estrada said.

Officials believe Gil-Baez died on Aug. 7 or 8, Estrada said.

He gave the following account:

On Aug. 8, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department received a call about a shooting victim near Mount Hopkins and Elephant Head roads, but the details were sketchy.

Sheriff’s deputies went to the area, but didn’t find anything and decided to contact Santa Cruz County, which also was unsuccessful in finding the shooting victim.

In the days that followed, someone contacted Gil-Baez’s relatives and told them that he had been killed, at which time they went to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department.

A Drug Enforcement Administration informant also contacted authorities and was able to draw a detailed map that led officials to Gil-Baez’s body in the Tubac/Tumacacori area Friday.

It appeared as though Gil-Baez dragged himself into a cave after he was shot in the chest and died there.

Estrada believes the cave was a camp site of sorts at which illicit activity, such as human and drug smuggling, occurs.

Inside the cave, authorities found numerous walkie talkies, an AK-47, a handgun, cell phones, around 20 empty backpacks and an outdoor cooking stove, Estrada said.

Because of the rugged terrain, officials were unable to recover the body and had to return Saturday, he said.

“Based on the information we have now, we believe that he was one an unknown number of robbers who in the process of trying to intercept or rip off some drugs was shot,” he said.

Authorities were checking on a tip that another person also was shot, but they hadn’t been able to confirm it, Estrada said.

No arrests have been made, although the Sheriff’s Department is working closely with the DEA and the victim’s relatives, Estrada said.

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/142077

I hope the cave received some well placed explosives!