7 News Belize

Corwin Mendoza Body Still Not Found
posted (November 11, 2014)
Tonight in Roaring Creek, the family of 24 year-old Corwin Mendoza continues to search for him, and as we told you last night, they fear they won't find him alive.

He was last seen in the village on Sunday night, when he was attacked by 2 men who stabbed and beat him to death. The reason that his family has been searching the river is because police believe that his body was disposed of in the creek, which empties into the Belize River.

It's an ordeal that no family wants to find itself in, and today, 7News travelled to Roaring Creek to speak with them. Daniel Ortiz reports:

Daniel Ortiz reporting
For the second day in a row, Coast Guard, civilians and relatives of Corwin Mendoza have been searching for his body in the river. The teams don't believe that they will find him alive, and for his immediate family that conviction without proof has been taxing.

Jessie Mendoza - Brother of Missing Man
"At the moment we still haven't been able to locate his body and yesterday the Coast Guard they were diving and doing search within the Roaring Creek and it was unfruitful, so we call it off at about 6pm yesterday evening. And today they are searching more downstream within the river in hopes of finding the body and really that's where we are at the moment. He does not reside here at my parents' home, but he is always in contact with them and if he had not come by for breakfast or probably just come by to say hello or drop off his daughter then we know that something definitely is wrong because he would have made contact already."

Mendoza left his family's house on Sunday evening to visit the mother of his 3 year-old daughter. Police believe that just a few hours later, he got into a confrontation where he was stabbed and beaten with a blunt object. Sometime after that, there was a cool-down period, and 2 men were reportedly seen carrying a white sheet, which was thrown into the Creek at the bottom of the hill.

Daniel Ortiz
"How are you guys so certain that you will find his body and not find him alive?"

Jessie Mendoza - Brother of Missing Man
"All indications are pointing towards that."

Daniel Ortiz
"I know this is very difficult and I don't want to force you to have to relive the entire experience and the ordeal, but can you just briefly talk to us about the last moments he was alive?"

Jessie Mendoza - Brother of Missing Man
"I cannot really give any conclusive statements in regards to last moment. The incident actually happened Sunday night. I know a close family friend, the last time he was seen was shortly after 8pm Sunday night and from rumors and people within the community, people have expressed that they heard him calling out for help and they heard the screams, but the police wasn't informed of the incident until Monday morning and during our search and stuff we've come across evidence and articles of clothing and areas of blood that leads down to the creek."

Mendoza's family make no attempts to hide the fact that he has had encounters with law enforcement. They say that his daughter's birth was a defining moment in his life.

Jessie Mendoza - Brother of Missing Man
"Really for him, I mean my brother's past have been troubled with some instances of illegalities, but really for him his daughter has been his pride and joy and I know that for the child it's a great loss, for the family it's a great loss. As a matter of fact both my parents celebrate their birthdays this week and so it's definitely a hard situation to walk through. I think that the reality of it won't really take effect until we find the body and can get some closure there and see what exactly happen. But he really loved his daughter."

The family tells us that Coast Guard officers began diving in sections of the Belize River, since the Creek, which runs through the village yielded nothing yesterday.

This afternoon, Superintendent Howell Gillett told our colleagues at Plus TV that Mendoza and the mother of his child were having a disagreement, when 2 men intervened. That ended up in a brawl where he was stabbed and beaten to death. Gillett told our colleagues that right now, investigators are seeking the advice of the DPP on how to proceed against the two main suspects who are in custody.

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