The parents of a spring breaker who disappeared on South Padre Island have traveled to Matamoros this afternoon to identify a body they believe may be their son’s.
Authorities had hoped the body could be identified through its fingerprints, but Mexican authorities don’t have the necessary equipment to do that.
Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio said Justin Kirby Walker’s parents needed to provide Mexican officials with a copy of his birth certificate to ID their son, before his body is released to local authorities.
He said officials with the Mexican consulate have traveled with the family to a Matamoros mortuary.
The body was discovered Wednesday afternoon at Costa Azul in Matamoros, which is across from Boca Chica Beach. The clothing on the body matched the description of what Walker was last seen wearing, Lucio said.
Authorities estimate that body had been in the water three to four days.
Walker, 18, of Kendall, Texas was last seen on Saturday leaving the Ultimate Music Fest at the Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark on South Padre Island.
Staff writer Christina R. Garza contributed to this report.
