Dead man found in Rio Grande

LAJITAS Brewster County sheriff investigators turned over a body found in the Rio Grande to Mexican authorities after finding a dead man there Thursday morning, Brewster County Sheriff Ronnie Dodson said.

The unidentified 20-something man was found by an off-duty park ranger in about two feet of water.

Dodson said according to witnesses on the Mexican side of the river, the man was used to wading through the shallow waters near a bar on the Mexican side. Witnesses said the man tried to cross back over to the U.S. side from the bar Wednesday night.

Dodson said the body did not show any trauma or signs of foul play, but Dodson said witnesses considered him intoxicated and he suspected that had something to do with how he managed to drown in such shallow water.

“He still had beer in his pocket. He was pretty drunk,” Dodson said.

Dodson said since the Mexican police often do not perform thorough autopsies it might not ever be known how intoxicated the man was.

Though no ID was found on the man, Dodson said he was believed to have had family in Mexico and likely lived there.