FALCON LAKE - Zapata County sheriff confirms murder of Mexican investigator

MCALLEN -- A Mexican investigator involved in the search for David Hartley's body on Falcon Lake has been murdered, two border officials said Tuesday. Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez Jr. told CHANNEL 5 NEWS Rolando Armando Flores Villegas, a homicide investigator for the Procuraduria de Tamaulipas, was decapitated and his body was delivered to the Mexican military in a suitcase Tuesday morning.

Texas Representative Aaron Pena first broke the news via his twitter account Tuesday afternoon. CHANNEL 5 NEWS spoke with Rep. Pena who said he received the information from a trusted source. The Mexican investigator who Gonzalez said was killed delivered documents to a CHANNEL 5 NEWS photographer over the weekend in Reynosa, Mexico. He also provided our photographer with information about two Mexican brothers, alleged Zeta cartel members, suspected of involvement in the alleged murder of David Hartley. Villegas said Juan Pedro and Jose Manuel Saldivar Farias are suspected members of the Zeta drug cartel, wanted criminals, and members of a pirate gang that has been terrorizing boaters on Falcon Lake and residents of a nearby Mexican town. The brothers are named as suspects in the Sept. 30 reported deadly shooting of David Hartley on Falcon Lake.

Hartley's wife Tiffany says they were ambushed by men in three boats while taking pictures near a historic church. Tiffany Hartley says her husband was shot in the head and she was forced to abandon his body as the pirates approached her. Villegas provided CHANNEL 5 NEWS with two documents from the Mexican State of Tamaulipas. The documents contain information about one of the brothers, Juan Pedro, including his last known address in the Mexican town of Guerrero. Villegas told CHANNEL 5 NEWS photographs of the two suspects were not available, as it is often difficult to obtain photos of known cartel members. Villegas said the brothers had not been arrested as of Sunday evening. On Saturday, Tamaulipas State Police Unit chief Juan Carlos Ballesteros released similar information and documents to members of the Mexican media and CHANNEL 5 NEWS sources. Ballesteros told reporters the pair was already wanted for a list of felonies including murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, and arson. Ballesteros said the brothers belonged to a gang of pirates that have terrorized Falcon Lake and a nearby Mexican town.

The news out of Mexico surprised Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez Jr., who told CHANNEL 5 NEWS he had no knowledge of any suspects in the Hartley case. The state announcement came one day after the Mexican government announced it opened a federal investigation into the reported shooting on Falcon Lake. The Tamaulipas state civil protection agency told the Associated Press Sunday it had 102 people searching the lake and shore with the help of three boats, five all-terrain vehicles and 53 trucks. Speaking to CHANNEL 5 NEWS outside of her McAllen home Sunday, Tiffany Hartley spoke about the suspects named by Mexican authorities. "I'm a little hopeful," she said. "Hopefully it's going to bring David home. Hopefully they can tell us where he is."

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