The UTRGV Police Department responded to a report of a floating body behind the U.S. Customs Gateway International Port of Entry building complex Monday evening, according to a UTRGV Police report.
“It didn’t happen by the bookstore,” UTRGV Police Chief Raul Munguia told The Rider on Tuesday morning. “That’s just the boat ramp that [the Brownsville Police Department] used. It happened on the other side of the resaca, on the other side of the university, so it’s in the City of Brownsville’s side. So, it wasn’t associated with either UTRGV, nor TSC.”
According to Munguia, University Police received the initial call, but as soon as they confirmed the body, they transferred it to the Brownsville Police Department.
The Brownsville Police Department contacted Cameron County Precinct 2-3 Justice of the Peace Mary Esther Sorola, who told The Rider the body was that of a man in his 40s.
“The deceased was badly decomposed,” said Sorola, who ordered an autopsy. “We could not tell if there was any foul play because of the decomposition. He did not have any ID on him.”
The discovery was made about 600 yards away from Texas Southmost College’s property line and the initial call was made about 5:51 p.m. Monday.
UTRGV Police arrived immediately and Brownsville Police Department officers arrived 14 minutes after being notified, Munguia said.
The Brownsville Fire Department launched a raft and confirmed that it was a deceased adult male, according to the police report.
Brownsville police utilized the boat ramp near the UTRGV Campus Bookstore to retrieve the body because it is the only boat ramp with access to the resaca, Munguia said.
The police report states that the Brownsville Fire Department was also at the scene.
The Rider has requested an incident report from the Brownsville Police Department.
Calls to Brownsville Police Department Public Information Officer J.J. Treviño were not returned.
The UTRGV Police Department patrols the campus and is open 24 hours a day. It offers students, faculty and staff escorts to vehicles and recently launched CampusShield, an application for the campus community to utilize.
