CA CA- Coronado, WhtHispMale, 15-25, UP97678, dead at the Naval Amphibious Base, strange tattoos. September 1977.

[cheemsg]

This young man was apparently found in 1977, but only added in NamUs Nov 27th this year.
He was found in the sand on the Orange Beach at the Naval Amphibious Base (which is in fact a US naval base so that's incredibly strange) His body was decomposed, no PMI.
He was 5'11, 136 pounds, had brown hair and a sparse moustache and goatee.
He had a lot of tattoos:

• A 'circle' below his eye.
• The word 'Pancho' between his right thumb + finger.
• A cross on the shoulder area.
• A cross between his left thumb + finger.
• An anchor on his left thumb.
• On various fingers: 'VX' 'RX' and '13'

Strange listing indeed.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[PatLaurel]

The case you linked is from a different UP.

 

[cheemsg]

The case you linked is from a different UP.

My bad, fixed it.

 

[RememberingRyan]

The long nail on his little finger may have been because he used it to scratch his ear canal - I used to do that when I was younger (leave my pinky nail longer, for that purpose, I mean). Being on the left hand only could signify that he was left handed or that he had chronic issues with his left ear.

 

[PatLaurel]

A little bit of humor: Here's what long nail on little finger means! - Newspapers.com

 

[cvaldez1975]

The long nail on his little finger may have been because he used it to scratch his ear canal - I used to do that when I was younger (leave my pinky nail longer, for that purpose, I mean). Being on the left hand only could signify that he was left handed or that he had chronic issues with his left ear.

it could mean also that he used cocaine.

is it possible he washed onto the shore? could he be an undocumented person who drowned on the way? playas tijuana isnt far from here

 

[Laughing]

Yes, decomp is a factor here -- but 136 pounds at 5'11' is very thin.

Agreeing with dear @cvaldez1975 , this is oh-so close to the border. Someone fishing may have been lost off a boat or something similar.

OT: a while back we took a family trip to San Diego & visited the estuary/border park. My step-mom walked right up the fence & struck up a conversation with the people on the other side! Asked what kind of fish they were catching, what bait & tackle.

This brought 3 SUVs with border patrol agents out of nowhere.

She argued with the nice agents -- great big guys in body armor, armed, radioed, very very serious and very very polite and very very firm -- about her right to talk to the fishermen!

My poor father!

Ok, I was holding my phone, wondering if I'd get to send a video of her being tucked into one of those SUVs to my Sister. Ya'know, What We Did on our Family Vacation & all.

Thank your lucky stars that she's my step-mom & not your very own....

 

[cvaldez1975]

Yes, decomp is a factor here -- but 136 pounds at 5'11' is very thin.

Agreeing with dear @cvaldez1975 , this is oh-so close to the border. Someone fishing may have been lost off a boat or something similar.

OT: a while back we took a family trip to San Diego & visited the estuary/border park. My step-mom walked right up the fence & struck up a conversation with the people on the other side! Asked what kind of fish they were catching, what bait & tackle.

This brought 3 SUVs with border patrol agents out of nowhere.

She argued with the nice agents -- great big guys in body armor, armed, radioed, very very serious and very very polite and very very firm -- about her right to talk to the fishermen!

My poor father!

Ok, I was holding my phone, wondering if I'd get to send a video of her being tucked into one of those SUVs to my Sister. Ya'know, What We Did on our Family Vacation & all.

Thank your lucky stars that she's my step-mom & not your very own....

i visited my bro in law who lives in TJ and went to the beach on the opposing side! the fence just crosses the beach and goes on out to the water. tons of ppl were chillin on the beach playing in the water and relaxing on the MX side but no one was around on the US side that day lol

 

[AguaFlorida2001]

5'11 male and 136 lbs? Jesus, that is frighteningly skinny. This person would stick out as noticeably thin when they were alive.
I think this may point either to a) drug use or b) malnourishment.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Pancho is a nickname for 'Francisco' - I wonder if that was his name

 

[LucyOso]

The long nail on his little finger may have been because he used it to scratch his ear canal - I used to do that when I was younger (leave my pinky nail longer, for that purpose, I mean). Being on the left hand only could signify that he was left handed or that he had chronic issues with his left ear.

Coke. It is used for cocaine, speed, etc.

 

[LucyOso]

Number 13 signifies the letter M. Motorcycle or Marijuana. It can signify drug use.
VX is a nerve agent.
CSA, controlled substances act was enacted in 1970. RX is prescription-1970s.

 

[sorcoy14]

All of this is just based on my knowledge of gang/prison culture as well as some research but boy did I fall down a rabbit hole here!

The number 13 could correspond to a wide number of things but one of the most interesting to me is that it could be associated with gang activity. The Sureños are a group of gangs that all sort of work together but still fight amongst themselves and are very active in California. The gang is typically formed of Hispanic people from Mexico but I don't believe that all of the factions require that. They also commonly use the number 13 because of their association with the Mexican Mafia. The top ones I could find were Florencia 13 (Founded in the 1930s), Puente 13 (1953), Santa Monica 13 (1920s), Barriox13 (Early 1970s), and Toonerville Rifa 13 (!930s). I know a pretty significant number of people who are affiliated with the Sureños gangs and a large number of them have a 13 tattooed on their bodies, especially their hands.

The cross between the finger and thumb could mean that he has served time in jail, which I think could be possible due to the crude nature of his tattoos. The three dots associated with the tattoo is also common in prison tattoos. (I have friends as well as family in the prison system/recently released from the prison system.) This would only really work if he was on the higher end of the age scale, but teenagers are full of bravado, and I can imagine a guy and his buddy sitting down to give each other "tough guy" tattoos.

As for VX, it could be roman numerals. V is 5 and X is 10. This could mean 510 or 15. I think it's also fair to assume that the decomposition could have degraded the tattoo and what they saw as a V was actually III (Which is a real reach but stranger things have happened!), resulting in another 13 tattoo.

I would wager a guess that if he was a gang member, he may have been killed by a rival group and not reported missing for a huge variety of reasons. Gang violence was really starting to ramp up in the 1970s-1980s so it is entirely possible that he got mixed up it that.

I don't really have any specific ideas for what the others could mean though. Sorry for the long post, I just got really interested!

 

[Laughing]

i visited my bro in law who lives in TJ and went to the beach on the opposing side! the fence just crosses the beach and goes on out to the water. tons of ppl were chillin on the beach playing in the water and relaxing on the MX side but no one was around on the US side that day lol

There is an ongoing problem with sewage leaking into the estuary of the San Diego River resulting in closure of the beaches due to E.Coli count.

We chatted with some very disappointed surfers.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Sad case. Probably unlikely to be solved but bumping it up anyway.