SAN DIEGO (CNS) - One of two bodies found floating in the Tijuana River Channel in late February, a 36-year-old man from Mexico, has been identified as a victim of a homicide, police said Wednesday.
Rodolfo Agosto Castillo-Ancona of Mexico had trauma to his upper body that indicated he was a homicide victim, said Lt. Steve Shebloski of the San Diego Police Department.
The second man had no obvious signs of injury that indicated he was the victim of a crime, Shebloski said. He has been identified but his name is not being released pending family notifications and further examination by the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.
The bodies were discovered in the river channel on Feb. 22 by SDPD officers who were notified the day before by the U.S. Border Patrol, who said there was a possible body floating in the channel next to the 3000 block of Dairy Mart Road in San Ysidro, the lieutenant said.
"This area is a large flood plain which had been flooded in recent weeks due to heavy rain," Shebloski said. "Officers from Southern Division responded and checked the area. However, due to poor lighting conditions, a strong water flow, vegetation and debris in the river, they were not able to locate a body."
The following day at about 6:50 a.m., officers returned to the area to resume the search, Shebloski said. With the assistance of a helicopter from the Border Patrol, officers located two bodies in the channel near a large pile of accumulated debris.
Officers consulted with officials from the San Diego Fire Department River Rescue Team, who ultimately were able to recover both bodies from the river.
"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," Shebloski said.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information about the deaths was asked to call the SDPD Homicide Unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
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