Body of US Tourist Found Near Urique

State Prosecutor's Office Has Detained Local Police and Provided More Details

Search for El Chueco Continues

From Diario (click here for various reports on this story):  The decomposing body of Patrick Braxton-Andrews was found buried about 6 km from Urique at a place called Guapalayna.  The information about the whereabouts of the body apparently came from local police officers who disclosed the location.  A search was initiated in the area, using K-9 dogs, and the body was found in a shallow grave.  At least six local police officers were taken to Chihuahua for questioning, and at least some of them appear to be under arrest.

What Happened?  On Sunday morning, October 28, Patrick left his hotel in Urique to explore the surrounding area.  It is believed that he entered a hotel, Barranca de Urique, near a sand bar on the river known as La Playita.  Noriel Portillo Gil, aka El Chueco, known as a local agent of the Sinaloa cartel, and other members of his organization, were apparently in the hotel in the midst of a party when he arrived.  Thus far little else is known except that there is evidence he was killed there.  His body was taken to Guapalayna and buried there.  No motive for his murder has been established.

On November 8 state police confiscated the weapons of all 13 local police officers, along with 13 cell phones and five walkie talkies, and six were taken to the state capital in Chihuahua for questioning.  Blood samples were taken from a cabin near Mesa de Arturo, a small hamlet near Urique, to be compared with samples of DNA from Patrick Braxton-Andrews.  The results are expected this week.

Interviews with citizens of Urique reveal that El Chueco was known to walk around town carrying an AK-47 and a holstered pistol, with perhaps a dozen armed men, most of them in their early 20's.  Some witnesses indicate they frequently spoke to local police officers

Noriel Portill, aka El Chueco was reported to have been killed in a gunfight in April of 2017, but he was seen later at a party in Urique and witnesses there indicate they saw him frequently in Urique, including on October 28, the day Patrick was murdered.  He was said to have stayed in local hotels without paying his bills.

Terrain Near Urique:  Photo Diario de Juárez