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NEWSRELEASE
Paul Babeu, Sheriff
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, June 05, 2012 CONTACT: Director of Communications, Tim Gaffney, 520-705-8124
the family members involved including those who are missing, but weve been asked to withhold as the family fears possible retaliation from the drug cartel. On Monday, an autopsy was conducted on the five human remains by the Pima County Medical Examiners Office. Gregory Hess, the chief medical examiner of the Pima Medical Examiners Office, said the bodies were badly burned and that it may be difficult to determine whether they were killed before the vehicle was set afire or died in the fire. Hess added that the victims identities can only be determined by dental records and at this point they still have not determined if they are males or females. According to the Boston Herald and other news entities, A Border Patrol official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still under way, said the driver could have fled on foot, driven off in a vehicle stashed nearby or phoned someone to pick him up. My guess, hes an illegal, maybe a Zetas cartel member and he was doing a hit for the Zetas.
http://bostonherald.com/news/national/southwest/view/20120605us_officials_say_5_bodies_found_in_arizona_ve hicle_may_have_been_cartel_hostages
It was also theorized by Federal law enforcement officials in this same article that these individuals were hostages killed by a Mexican drug cartel. The Pinal County Sheriffs Office is not able to confirm this information as our investigation is still ongoing. On Monday afternoon, the Pinal County Sheriffs Office was notified by the Tempe Police Department of a missing persons case they are working. The Tempe Police Department advised us that they had responded to a residence and the husband, wife and three children were all missing. All five individuals were confirmed missing along with their full size Ford SUV. Any additional requests for information regarding the details of this investigation will need to be directed to the Tempe Police Department. . The Pinal County Sheriffs Office is still investigating the homicide case and is looking at both of these other cases to see if either is linked to it. We will continue to work with the Pima County Medical Examiners Office and the Tempe Police Department with this investigation. If anyone has information regarding this case they are asked to contact the Pinal County Sheriffs Office at 520-866-5111.
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