Suspect couple may have crossed the border to Mexico with the stolen truck and trailer of the murdered couple.
Police release photo of a suspect they’re calling a person of interest in the case. The man has gauges in his ears, tattoos. Police believe he is from Corpus Christi.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Authorities said they are making progress as they investigate the murder of James and Michelle Butler, a New Hampshire couple whose bodies were found last week on Padre Island in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The Butlers had been missing since Oct. 14.
The Kleberg County Sheriff’s Office released this photo, which they said was captured by border security at the Texas-Mexico border. Police said the man is driving a truck that is believed to have belonged to the Butlers.
At around 2 p.m. Monday, just hours after releasing the photo to the public, Kleberg County Sheriff Richard Kirkpatrick and District Attorney John Hubert said a tip came in and they believe they have the name of the man in the photo. They said they hope to have an arrest warrant soon.
It was Friday evening when the Kleberg County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that two bodies found in a shallow grave on Padre Island, just south of Bob Hall Pier, were positively identified as the Butlers.
The Kleberg County Sheriff’s Office hosted a news conference Monday morning to provide updates about the case and notify the public about the person of interest they are hoping to identify and make contact with.
Their investigation began on the evening Sunday, Oct. 27. Investigators responded to the area between Mile Markers 263 and 264, an opening in the sand dunes commonly known as “the bowl”, after a cellphone believed to belong to the missing couple pinged in the area. According to a press release from the Kleberg County Sheriff’s Office, 48-year-old James Butler and 46-year-old Michelle Butler had not been heard from since Oct. 14.
Authorities said the body of a female had been exposed. They secured the area and waited until the following morning to do a full search of the area. That’s when they found the second body, a male.
Officials declined to definitively identify the badly decomposed bodies as the couple until Friday evening.
Police said the couple’s last confirmed location was at Padre Balli Park around noon earlier in October. Family members reported to the Kleberg County Sheriff’s Office that the Butlers were likely headed to a part-time job in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. They were supposed to get there on Nov. 20, 2019.
The Butler’s were believed to have been driving in a 2018 Silver Chevrolet 2500 four-door pickup truck with a license plate number of 3738968. The Sheriff’s Office reported the truck was towing a white Cedar Creek RV with New Hampshire license plate number T533534.
The section of beach where both bodies were found, known to residents as “the bowl,” is about three miles south of Bob Hall Pier and is a desolate section of beach.
Source> kiiitv.com, ktab.com
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