Texas Rangers have made an arrest in connection with a body found buried in Willacy County.
Juan Carlos Baez Escobedo, 27, of Brownsville, is behind bars accused of murder and is being held in the Willacy County Jail.
It is believed the murder victim is William “Bill” Costello, a 71-year-old man disappeared from South Padre Island Aug. 1 near the Tiki Condominiums.
Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Johnny Hernandez said there is no confirmation yet the body is Costello’s.
Costello was a priest in Massachusetts until he retired three years ago and moved to Texas.
The body was discovered Friday three miles east of Santa Monica after Willacy County sheriff’s deputies were lead to a remote area of the county.
Sheriff Larry Spence said his department is working the case as a homicide.
“The guy didn’t bury himself,” Sheriff Larry Spence said Tuesday.
The man’s dog named Grace is also missing.
