Found Deceased Costa Rica - Charlie Hughes, 62, from Florida, disappeared in Puerto Jimenez, 3 Aug 2019

[JerseyGirl]

Charlie Hughes, 62, mysteriously disappeared Aug. 3 on a trip to Puerto Jimenez, where he was staying at a hotel with a man he met three weeks earlier. He suddenly vanished and left behind most of his belongings in the hotel room. Soon after his disappearance, his rental car was discovered submerged in a local river.

Local authorities investigating Hughes’ disappearance said his companion was a gigolo.

https://nypost.com/2019/08/27/florida-man-missing-in-costa-rica-last-seen-with-local-gigolo/

 

[LadyL]

they just gotta find that gigolo

 

[JerseyGirl]

His sister said Charlie was a experienced traveler and he went to Costa Rica to spend time with a friend he’d just met on a previous visit there.

She believes that man knows something about what really happened.

“According to what I’ve been told, the FBI has questioned him. The police have questioned him,” she said.

Family wants answers after Tampa man disappears during vacation in Costa Rica

 

[PommyMommy]

From JerseyGirl's link in post #3:

• His phone is missing.
• Charlie’s family is now getting help from Florida congresswoman Kathy Castor’s office and the national organization, Texas Equusearch.

Texas EquuSearch - TXEQ

AUG 23 updated AUG 25, 2019
Tampa man mysteriously disappears in Costa Rica
The family is now working with the FBI and a missing persons group called Texas EquuSearch, which has a team en route to Costa Rica.

AUG 26, 2019
US tourist missing in Puerto Jiménez is being searched for by FBI and OIJ

 

[PommyMommy]

AUG 27, updated AUG 28, 2019
Tampa man, ‘local gigolo’ vanish in Costa Rica; lawmaker joins search efforts

• A massive search is taking place with teams scouring multiple areas, including the capital city of San Jose and nearby town, Puerto Jimenez.
• Charlie was last seen alive in the rural town of Puerto Jimenez in the company of a companion.
• The FBI is actively investigating Charlie's disappearance.
• Charlie is described by family and friends as a seasoned global traveler, both savvy and smart, someone who didn’t make foolish decisions while visiting foreign countries.
• The family claims their brother preferred larger cities. “He’s a city boy, he hated the country. So, how did he end up in that area? How?
• When Charlie flew out of Tampa International a month ago, he was scheduled to return in several days.
• LE says the man Charlie was with is a local hustler. Someone they call “trouble” and this “gigolo” now plays a key role in this missing person case.
• Nancy says she feels fed up and frustrated, saying the police in Costa Rica have fed Charlie’s family bogus theories and stories regarding his disappearance.
• Charlie comes from a close-knit family which includes five siblings.
• Congresswoman Castor acted quickly and decisively as she joined the global search for Charlie.
• As numerous calls were made to fellow lawmakers, the congresswoman also reached out to multiple enforcement agencies, hoping her actions and those of fellow Florida leaders, will make the difference. “It’s humbling to work on the family’s behalf,” said Congressman Castor. “We will work hard to help them.”

 

[?mysterian?]

Ok, I'm confused. The article linked in post 3 reports that the sister says the FBI and the police have interviewed the "companion", but the article in post 5 claims the man disappeared. Which is it?

 

[bykerladi]

So, here, what is the definition of "gigolo"? I know what I mean by that term, but I can't help but think its not the same as used in this case.

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

yes, not clear if the guy he met in CR is also missing.

Regardless, hate to say it but this won't end well... heartbreaking... sad that this is a risk a traveler takes when visiting some countries... CR is an amazing place but yeah, it's got some of this going on, just like anywhere...

 

[Satchie]

Ok, I'm confused. The article linked in post 3 reports that the sister says the FBI and the police have interviewed the "companion", but the article in post 5 claims the man disappeared. Which is it?

I notice the article in post 3 quotes a family member directly. The article in post 5 uses exaggerated words like "vanished" and "massive search", with no quotation marks or references to where the author got these ideas. The #5 author also states that Puerto Jimenez is a "nearby town" to the capital San Jose. In fact, as gmaps show, it's a tiny town in a very remote location, about 8 hours drive, and a world away from the capital city. So I know which is reporter I'm going to believe...likely police have questioned the companion, but have no evidence to arrest him.

This is the same area where Cody Dial disappeared: it turned out he was trekking in the jungle and had an accident, whereas this person is unlikely to have been trekking or had an accident.

This is very much off the beaten track at this time of year, it's rainy and hot. Most tourism happens after Christmas, in the 'dry' season. People who can afford it fly in to stay at jungle lodges, backpackers take the bus and stay in the little town. Most people hire guides rather than go around on their own. No one goes to hang out by the pool and go to bars, there's plenty of other, more convenient places for that.

I doubt there's much of a police force in that area, certainly no one's going to be doing forensic testing on the car, reviewing surveillance footage, etc.

 

[PommyMommy]

Ok, I'm confused. The article linked in post 3 reports that the sister says the FBI and the police have interviewed the "companion", but the article in post 5 claims the man disappeared. Which is it?

Maybe both are true. He was questioned by authorities and has now disappeared? MOO

 

[?mysterian?]

Maybe both are true. He was questioned by authorities and has now disappeared? MOO

Yes, could be.

Both articles have quotes from his sister, N. Maybe she was interviewed at separate times and didn't have information that she maybe had learned later, or maybe a reporter just picked quotes from another interview and didn't interview her at all, idk, just seemed odd to me.

 

[JerseyGirl]

“[Charlie’s friend Tiffany’s] impression of this man was that he seemed almost like a scam artist,” David Hughes, the missing man’s brother, told Fox 13. “My brother, I don’t think, picked up on that. The bar in which he met him, even the bar owner, apparently told Tiffany to stay away from this young man, that he was trouble.”

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article234427247.html

 

[MFH]

Just heard about him on HLN, his sister was on speaking with Mike Galanos (sp?). I am glad the FBI and Texas EquuSearch are involved so they can hopefully get answers, but I don’t have a good feeling for what those answers will be.

IMOO

 

[PommyMommy]

HLN on Twitter (Video with Charlie's sister and Mike Galanos)
There is a massive search underway right now for Charlie Hughes, a retired accountant from Tampa, who disappeared suddenly on a trip to #CostaRica. the 62-year-old was last seen Aug. 3. Contact @txeqorg with any information.
11:31 AM - 29 Aug 2019

 

[Satchie]

HLN on Twitter (Video with Charlie's sister and Mike Galanos)
There is a massive search underway right now for Charlie Hughes, a retired accountant from Tampa, who disappeared suddenly on a trip to #CostaRica. the 62-year-old was last seen Aug. 3. Contact @txeqorg with any information.
11:31 AM - 29 Aug 2019

I would be interested to know what this "massive search" consists of, outside of people posting articles and notices on the internet, facebook and twitter. I very much doubt the Costa Rican police, the FBI, or Texas Eqsearch have set up a command post in Pto J to physically search the jungle. I think this is more about publishing info and hoping if someone knows or finds something, they'll phone it in.

 

[PommyMommy]

I would be interested to know what this "massive search" consists of, outside of people posting articles and notices on the internet, facebook and twitter. I very much doubt the Costa Rican police, the FBI, or Texas Eqsearch have set up a command post in Pto J to physically search the jungle. I think this is more about publishing info and hoping if someone knows or finds something, they'll phone it in.

Yes, I would like to hear the details about the search effort as well. My understanding is that TXEQ was en route to Costa Rica on 8/26 and this massive search in multiple areas, including San Jose and Puerto Jimenez was taking place 8/27 and/or 8/28. Unfortunately, it doesn't tell us who was searching. Local LE? Volunteer SAR teams? Who knows, but I think that would be too quick to be TXEQ.

Tim did organize major searches for Natalee Holloway (Aruba) and Caylee Anthony (Florida) but it takes a lot of research and planning to launch searches like that. In this case, I'd guess they're going to need sonar, divers, dogs, etc. I don't think TXEQ could arrive one day and have all that in place by day 2.

Hopefully, we'll get some details soon. MOO

 

[BlackCloud]

Charlie Hughes, 62, mysteriously disappeared Aug. 3 on a trip to Puerto Jimenez, where he was staying at a hotel with a man he met three weeks earlier. He suddenly vanished and left behind most of his belongings in the hotel room. Soon after his disappearance, his rental car was discovered submerged in a local river.

Local authorities investigating Hughes’ disappearance said his companion was a gigolo.

https://nypost.com/2019/08/27/florida-man-missing-in-costa-rica-last-seen-with-local-gigolo/

Pura vida....

 

[JerseyGirl]

Costa Rican Officials Claim That A Missing Florida Man Wandered Into A River But His Family Doesn't Believe It

 

[?mysterian?]

Costa Rican Officials Claim That A Missing Florida Man Wandered Into A River But His Family Doesn't Believe It

I think CH wandering into a river is almost at the very end of the list of possibilities of things that could've happened. How stupid do these officials think people are?

 

[Satchie]

I think CH wandering into a river is almost at the very end of the list of possibilities of things that could've happened. How stupid do these officials think people are?

I think the source of these articles is the family, not the police. I think family members are trying to use the news media to force Costa Rican officials to solve the case and resolve their pain right now.

Unfortunately for them, they are dealing with a different language, a different culture, a different legal system, a different process for investigation, so there's bound to be frustration, which comes out from the family in the form of contempt for officials.

In my observation, people in the US who follow unsolved crimes often express exactly the same contempt for American LE, the only difference is, that newspapers don't usually publish their claims in headlines, or people don't take their words at face value.

Certainly, Costa Rican police are not going to be operating like in an American crime show. It's still a third-world country. I believe they will prosecute crimes when they have the evidence available, but they don't have the financial resouces/infrastructure to undertake sophisticated, labour-intensive investigations to try to turn up evidence, such as we see in the US.

It doesn't mean they're stupid. No police force in the world would confide to a family "We have no evidence whatever but we believe X killed your loved-one".