Found Safe TX - LF, 9, & dad, Hector Flores Jr, 49, hiking @ Big Bend Natl Park, 28 Jan 2022 *Arrest*

[Friday Fan]

From Big Bend National Park. Log into Facebook

I get the impression that they just discovered the vehicle on Monday.

 

[azure]

The FBI is actually quite commonly called in by the National Park Service in missing persons cases. If they are listed as "first point of contact" it's likely for the same reason they're called in - they have way more resources, both manpower and technology than park LE.

Here's a Big Bend National Park case from 2021, and here are the agencies involved "...the Border Patrol used the overnight hours to mobilize its agents, the Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue (BORSTAR) team, horse and K-9 Units, as well the National Park Service, Department of Public Safety, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, and mobile technology."
Agents on horseback find missing hiker after 16-hour multi-agency search at Big Bend National Par

Another from 2019 with just CBP involvement:
Friendswood hiker found dead in Big Bend National Park

Another from 2017 with just park rangers and CBP involved: Woman dies during hike at Big Bend National Park

 

[Friday Fan]

Here's a Big Bend National Park case from 2021, and here are the agencies involved "...the Border Patrol used the overnight hours to mobilize its agents, the Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue (BORSTAR) team, horse and K-9 Units, as well the National Park Service, Department of Public Safety, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, and mobile technology."
Agents on horseback find missing hiker after 16-hour multi-agency search at Big Bend National Par

Another from 2019 with just CBP involvement:
Friendswood hiker found dead in Big Bend National Park

Another from 2017 with just park rangers and CBP involved: Woman dies during hike at Big Bend National Park

I'm not hearing anything about foul play.
Maybe the FBI is involved because a child is missing.

This dad did everything wrong....He didn't follow any of the safety rules. I have no idea how long he has lived in Ft Stockton. I can't find any info on him anywhere. A dad and a nine year old girl in a remote desert are not a good match. I don't get the impression this is cartel related, because...why?? It does not make sense.

Was dad in a cartel?
Or if something happens near the border is it a cartel?
If he wasn't, why would a cartel randomly ambush a father and daughter? (Seriously, they want to get their product to market, not kill innocent people. Hector and has daughter do not look like the type of people a cartel would want to rob)
There is probably more cartel stuff where I live, but just because someone dies, or disappears, it doesn't mean there is a cartel involved?

There is probably more cartel stuff up in Chicago...

Heat

• Carry plenty of water (at least one gallon per person, per day); springs are unreliable despite what maps indicate.
  Wear a hat, long pants, long-sleeved shirt, and sun screen when hiking.
• A packable shade umbrella can provide welcome shade during the day.
• Avoid hiking during mid-day heat in summer.

Hiking
Exploring desert and mountain country on foot requires both mental and physical preparation. Trails vary from well maintained in the Chisos Mountains to primitive and barely visible in the desert. Plan hikes within your ability.

• Let someone know where you're going and when you expect to return.
• Take along a map and compass and know how to use them.
• Carry a flashlight, first aid kit, and signaling device (mirror and whistle).
• Avoid narrow canyons or dry washes; flash floods may occur during thunderstorms.
• Stay low and avoid ridges during lightning.
• If you get hurt or lost, stay in one place to conserve water and energy. Signal for help (using whistle or mirror). In remote areas, mark a large "X" on the ground that could be visible from the air.

Safety - Big Bend National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

No civilization around for several hundred miles.

 

[SimplyCass]

I'm not hearing anything about foul play.
Maybe the FBI is involved because a child is missing.

This dad did everything wrong....He didn't follow any of the safety rules. I have no idea how long he has lived in Ft Stockton. I can't find any info on him anywhere. A dad and a nine year old girl in a remote desert are not a good match. I don't get the impression this is cartel related, because...why?? It does not make sense.

Was dad in a cartel?
Or if something happens near the border is it a cartel?
If he wasn't, why would a cartel randomly ambush a father and daughter? (Seriously, they want to get their product to market, not kill innocent people. Hector and has daughter do not look like the type of people a cartel would want to rob)
There is probably more cartel stuff where I live, but just because someone dies, or disappears, it doesn't mean there is a cartel involved?

There is probably more cartel stuff up in Chicago...

[Snipped for focus]

I agree, nothing about this seems to be foul play. I do not know of anyone's M.O to meet/ambush/pickup someone in a national park, especially one that seems as remote as BBNP.

However, there has been so little detail released - about the truck, the condition of the truck, what the father said to anyone, even the family dynamics, etc. - I hesitate to speculate what he did 'wrong.' At the very least, could LE or BBNP confirm if the father made any kind of reservations or got a permit? If he paid the fee to enter the park? If someone might have asked what his intended plans were? Quite literally...it could be anything.

 

[Howl]

Coming from Ft. Stockton, they would certainly have entered the park from the north, at the Persimmon Gap Visitor Center. If I'm recalling correctly (and it's been a few years), there is no kiosk/entrance station on the road, with a ranger inside.
You pull over into the visitor center parking lot to pay your required entrance fee inside, get maps, info, permits or just drive on by if you don't need any of those.
AFAIK, one does not need a permit to drive on the Dagger Flats Auto Trail or Old Ore Road. One does need a reservation to use one of the campsites along Old Ore Road.
If they stopped at the Persimmon Gap Visitor Center to pay their required entrance fee, there will be a record with the date and time they entered the park.
If they didn't stop in, that's another red flag.

 

[agilbe]

Coming from Ft. Stockton, they would certainly have entered the park from the north, at the Persimmon Gap Visitor Center. If I'm recalling correctly (and it's been a few years), there is no kiosk/entrance station on the road, with a ranger inside.
You pull over into the visitor center parking lot to pay your required entrance fee inside, get maps, info, permits or just drive on by if you don't need any of those.
AFAIK, one does not need a permit to drive on the Dagger Flats Auto Trail or Old Ore Road. One does need a reservation to use one of the campsites along Old Ore Road.
If they stopped at the Persimmon Gap Visitor Center to pay their required entrance fee, there will be a record with the date and time they entered the park.
If they didn't stop in, that's another red flag.

In the pictures they have posted of the two, one is a picture of the father by himself. I kept trying to figure out where he was, at one point I thought it looked like a storage unit (which made no sense to me). Could that have been at the kiosk you are talking about I wonder?

 

[Friday Fan]

In the pictures they have posted of the two, one is a picture of the father by himself. I kept trying to figure out where he was, at one point I thought it looked like a storage unit (which made no sense to me). Could that have been at the kiosk you are talking about I wonder?

Since storage units have security cameras, I'm thinking maybe the image is from January 28th...Maybe he stopped at the unit before they went on their road trip?? MOO...

I doesn't look like a kiosk to me.

ETA: I think I found the specific storage units in Ft Stockton via googling "Storage units in Ft Stockton"...

 

[agilbe]

Since storage units have security cameras, I'm thinking maybe the image is from January 28th...Maybe he stopped at the unit before they went on their road trip?? MOO...

I doesn't look like a kiosk to me.

ETA: I think I found the specific storage units in Ft Stockton.

Crossing my fingers that they were picking up camping equipment for their trip. I can dream, can't I.

 

[Howl]

I have my trusty Road Guide to the Backcountry Roads of Big Bend National Park. The first official campsite, McKinney Springs, is 7.3 miles down Old Ore Road from the north end.
BBNP description and photo of the McKinney Springs campsite HERE.

None of the news releases have identified this particular campsite as being where, or near where their truck was found, but just offering this as a point of reference to possibly match up with "A vehicle belonging to Hector Flores, Jr. — a blue 2005 Dodge 1500 truck — was discovered near a campsite on the northern end of the park’s remote Old Ore Road"

This BBNP web page shows all of the campsites along Old Ore Road, listed from south to north.
Primitive Roadside Campsites— Old Ore Road
The photos give a good sense of the terrain in the area.

Also, I googled "2005 Dodge 1500 truck". This truck was available in 4-wheel drive, so it's entirely possible that Hector Flores' truck is 4-wheel drive if he got 7 miles down Old Ore Road.

 

[moonriverfarm]

What is in the metal container at the campsite?

 

[agilbe]

What is in the metal container at the campsite?

Big Bend Backcountry Camping, Big Bend National Park - Recreation.gov could they be the food lockers mentioned in the amenities section of this page?

 

[Laughing]

@RickshawFan , can you lend any desert expertise to this one?

My family lives in New Mexico. January & February are good times to visit Big Bend. Any desert is beautiful, but mammals are unsuited to the desert environment.

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[carbuff]

What is in the metal container at the campsite?

Looks like boxes to store your food so bears, coyotes, raccoons, or whatever don't get in it.

 

[Friday Fan]

@RickshawFan , can you lend any desert expertise to this one?

My family lives in New Mexico. January & February are good times to visit Big Bend. Any desert is beautiful, but mammals are unsuited to the desert environment.

jmho ymmv lrr

They have bears at Big Bend National Park.
They also have javelina, coyotes and ringtails, which probably would love "free, easy human food"

What Mammal Did I See - Big Bend National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

 

[Friday Fan]

[Snipped for focus]

I hesitate to speculate what he did 'wrong.' .

He failed to follow safety rules.

• Always let someone know that you are going to Big Bend.
• Always let someone at the park know before you hike in Big Bend
  • Let them know your hiking itinerary, paths etc.
  • Give them an expected return time from your hike.
    • This way, they can summon help if you have not arrived by your return time.
  • Big Bend is a physically dangerous and extremely remote place
    • It is very difficult to summon help if you need it

If he would have let his family know that he was going to Big Bend. If he would have had a contact at the park, then the search would have begun with in a few hours, instead of a week later. They would have located them too, especially if they stuck to their itinerary. They probably would be safe at home right now.

 

[carbuff]

I am starting to have concern that there's more going on than just a hike gone wrong. And no, I don't mean cartels or either kind of coyote.

 

[agilbe]

I am starting to have concern that there's more going on than just a hike gone wrong. And no, I don't mean cartels or either kind of coyote.

Some of us have been thinking that from the beginning. Something seems off about the whole thing.

 

[carbuff]

Some of us have been thinking that from the beginning. Something seems off about the whole thing.

Hiking accidents are so common that it seemed like the obvious thing for an unprepared but enthusiastic family outing...but...

 

[Innotts]

I’ve seen the phrase “They both have family in San Antonio” several times but I’m confused about the need for the word both

 

[neesaki]

Apologies if I missed it. But, is there a mother / wife ? What does she have to say? And, when they say gear left at the site, does that mean it was just lying around, or had they set up camp / a tent, etc. ? I haven’t seen this info posted anywhere so I assume we all have the same questions? Or, I just missed it which unfortunately isn’t uncommon these days