The bodies of two unidentified men were discovered on Feb. 22 near the debris-strewn Tijuana River just north of the U.S.-Mexico border, prompting a homicide investigation, authorities said.
The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) received a call on Feb. 21 at about 5:33 p.m. from U.S. Border Patrol officials about a possible body found floating in the Tijuana River Channel near the 3000 block of Dairy Mart Road in San Ysidro, the department said.
Officers responded to the area, which has been flooded in recent weeks due to heavy rain, police said.
“However, due to poor lighting conditions, a strong water flow, vegetation, and debris in the river, they were not able to locate a body,” SDPD Lt. Steve Shebloski said in a statement.
Authorities returned to the scene the next day and were able to locate two bodies on the riverbed near a large pile of debris with the assistance of a Border Patrol helicopter, Mr. Shebloski said.
The city fire department rescue team retrieved the bodies, and medical examiners were called.
“Upon closer examination of one of the males, it was discovered he had trauma to his upper body that indicated he was the victim of a homicide,” Mr. Shebloski said. “The second male had no obvious signs of injury that indicated he was the victim of a crime.”
According to police sources, both individuals are believed to be Hispanic adult males, but further identification was made difficult by the length of time the bodies had been submerged.
The exact cause of death for both men is pending further examination.
“It is undetermined if the deaths of the two males are related in any way or if their bodies ended up at the same location due to the recent heavy rains and strong currents in the river that led to their discovery in a location where a large amount of debris had accumulated within the river,” Mr. Shebloski said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
