Thread: AZ: 3rd body found by investigators at former luxury resort

This is a heavy illegal trafficing area

Published: 09.22.2008
3rd body found by investigators at former luxury resort
DAVID L. TEIBEL and SHERYL KORNMAN
Tucson Citizen
A third body has been found by sheriff's investigators at 12:20 p.m Monday on a former luxury resort about 10 miles southwest of Tucson on Old Ajo Highway.
Two bodies were found about 8 a.m. by a caretaker when he arrived at El Rancho Diablo, in the 8600 block of West Old Ajo Highway, sheriff's authorities said.
The entire 5-acre property, once a resort, was being searched at 1 p.m. for more bodies and possible evidence.
Deputies are looking for possible suspects, although the deaths have not been determined to be the result of criminal acts, said Deputy Dawn Hanke, a Sheriff's spokeswoman.
Sheriff's authorities said they do not know who owns the property or whether it was occupied.
Vandals destroyed much of the resort in the early 1970s, Tucson Citizen archives show.
The former guest ranch had its heyday in the 1940s and 1950s, according to the newspaper's archives.
It was a "plush" resort where swimming parties, proms and church picnics were held. The pool had scalloped edges and three diving boards, including a 10-foot diving tower.
Units on the property "were designed for gracious vacations," according to a 1976 Tucson Citizen story about the property, then in litigation and disarray.
The resort once offered "moonlight swimming" from 10 p.m. to midnight, 50 dressing rooms, a barbecue pit and picnic facilities.
The property then was owned by a land investor who died in 1962.
Monday, sheriff's Detective Lt. Michael G. O'Connor, and 40 to 50 law enforcement officers from different agencies arrived at the scene of the deaths.
Many of the law enforcers are part of the multiagency Regional SWAT team, which is administered by the Pima County Sheriff's Department.
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/fromcomments/97391.php

Published: 09.22.2008

Third body found on ranch southwest of Tucson
By Alexis Huicochea
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
A third body has been found on a ranch in the Tucson Mountains area this afternoon and the deaths are being called suspicious, an official said.
Few details were available about the incident, which was reported by a caretaker of a ranch in the 8600 block of West Old Ajo Highway, according to Deputy Dawn Hanke, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.
The caretaker reported finding two bodies on the property, which is in a desert area, around 8 a.m. and called 911, Hanke said.
The deputies responded and confirmed that two people were deceased, she said. The Pima Regional Swat team, which is made up of various agencies, was called for assistance in searching the property because it is very large.
While they searched, they came across a third body around 12:20 p.m., Hanke said.
No details on the deceased were released to include sex, age, how they were killed or where on the property they were found.
A helicopter was also utilized to look for any possible suspects or evidence, Hanke said.
The residence is approximately half a mile off the roadway, Hanke said.
Deputies remain at the property and the SWAT team will continue searching the property at least until 1:30 p.m., Hanke said.
contact reporter Alexis Huicochea at 573-4242 or at ahuicochea@azstarnet.com
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/258729

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