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Sunday, October 10, 2010
Two suspects named in case of David Hartley, missing American allegedly attacked by Mexican pirates
The search goes on for David Hartley, the missing American whose wife says was shot in the head by Mexican pirates ten days ago.
Mexican authorities launched a federal investigation into Hartley's disappearance last week, and announced Saturday they have named two suspects in the case: brothers Juan Pedro Saldivar-Farias and Jose Manuel Saldivar-Farias, according to Mexican newspaper El Universal.
The pair already stand accused of a long list of criminal activity in Mexico, according to the paper, including arson, theft, and involvement in prior murders.
It is not clear how they were identified as suspects, local television station KGBT reported.
Tiffany Hartley, 29, claims she and her husband were spending an afternoon on Jet Skis at the lake on the Texas-Mexico border on Thursday, Sept. 30, when pirates appeared and shot David in the head, causing him to fall into the water.
She says she tried to pull him out, but panicked and fled when the men continued to shoot at her.
Hartley's body has still not been found, causing some to question Tiffany's story.
"My question is, OK if he had a vest, why is the body not floating?" U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-Tex) said Friday, according to The Associated Press. "We asked the Coast Guard, if he had a Jet Ski, would that Jet Ski be floating somewhere around? Our Mexican friends have said they've been searching around; they've even used a helicopter. If you have a general idea of where that is, why is the body not floating? Why is there not a Jet Ski?"
But Cuellar said the area where the Hartleys reported being attacked is a "hornet's nest" for the Zetas drug cartel, and that there is reason to believe Tiffany’s story is true.
"The bad guys could look at the Jet Ski as an asset that they could take," Cuellar said Friday, noting that Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez "does have an eyewitness, a person that did see her [Tiffany] coming in with a boat chasing her, so we have to rely on law enforcement officials."
Gonzalez told CBS News he has blood evidence from Tiffany Hartley's life vest that supports her version of events.
"Our information is indicating that the witness is reliable, the witness is truthful," he said, citing "other evidence" that also backs up Tiffany’s claim. "I'm not at liberty to discuss it at this time, but it does indicate that she had nothing to do with" her husband's disappearance.
Tamaulipas State Police say they have dispatched teams on land, in the water, and in the air, deploying a military aircraft in search of Hartley's body.
CBS also reported on Friday that police have video of the Hartleys being pulled over shortly before they went to the lake, which corroborates the timeline of Tiffany's story.
"There's no reason for us to doubt what she's saying," Gonzalez said. "Our investigation is really for us to get a body."
Hartley continues to defend herself, telling Fox News on Saturday, "I've spoken the truth...I’m telling everything I can."
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