SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas — Authorities continue to investigate the apparent drowning of a Saudi Arabian soldier in this resort city.
Over the October 8 weekend, 22-year-old Mohammed Alsuibaie went missing while swimming during a visit. For several days, the U.S. Coast Guard, Fire Departments from South Padre Island and Brownsville searched the coastal waters initially in a rescue operation. After one and a half days of searching, the operation turned into a body recovery one.
The search was temporarily suspended on Monday afternoon after rough currents presented an immediate danger to divers. By Tuesday, authorities responded to the beach after the body of a man washed ashore.
On Tuesday afternoon, Cameron County Justice of the Peace Benny Ochoa confirmed that he had been called out to legally pronounce Alsuibaie’s body as deceased. According to authorities, Alsuibaie is a member of the Saudi military who had been in Texas for training at Lackland Air Force Base.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project and you can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.