Texas sheriff exonerates wife in jet-ski murder

David and Tiffany Hartley

The Texas sheriff investigating the jet-ski murder of a U.S. citizen on a border lake blames the incident on the Mexican drug cartels, insisting his probe exonerates the wife from any foul play in the incident.

"Mexico is not cooperating with the investigation to find the body of David Michael Hartley," Texas Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo "Sigi" Gonzalez Jr. told WND in an exclusive interview.

According to a Texas Department of Public Safety advisory dated Oct. 1, Hartley, a 30-year old American citizen, was believed killed by Mexican pirates last Thursday on Falcon Lake south of Laredo, Texas, on the Mexican border, as he and his wife, Tiffany, were on jet skis.

"The incident happened on the Mexican side of the lake and we are at the mercy of the Mexican government to get involved," Gonzalez said. "So far, Mexico has refused to do conduct any meaningful rescue or recovery efforts."

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Two boatloads of armed men began shooting at the couple, striking David Hartley in the head, according to his wife.

The men continued shooting at Tiffany, 29, when she entered U.S. waters. She managed to escape and return to shore on the U.S. side.

Marco Antonio Guerrero Carrizales, the district attorney for the Miguel Aleman Province adjoining Falcon Lake on the Mexican side, has questioned whether Tiffany Hartley was involved in foul play.

Gonzalez completely rules out foul play on the part of Mrs. Hartley.

"A local witness saw Tiffany Hartley escaping on her jet-ski to the Texas side of the lake," he said. "She came in at high speed and was being pursued by armed men in a Mexican fishing boat that that the witness clearly observed."

Gonzalez said the witness was a long-standing member of the Zapata community who was well known to him and regarded as highly credible.

He said the statement of the witness was recorded in the police file but his name was being withheld from the public to protect his privacy.

"The testimony of this witness dispels any idea Mrs. Hartley was involved in any wrongdoing regarding the murder of her husband," he said firmly. "She called in a 911 phone call to our office at around 2:20 p.m. on the day of the incident, immediately after she got to shore, and her statements to my office confirm what the local witness observed."

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Gonzales confirmed to WND that he had interviewed Mrs. Hartley himself.

He attributed the failure to recover David Hartley's jet ski and his body to the unwillingness of Mexico to cooperate

"The drug cartels operate from an island on the Mexican side of the lake," Gonzalez explained.

"Mexican law enforcement authorities do not control the lake – the pirates do," he said. "Tons of illegal drugs are warehoused on that island by the drug cartels for smuggling into the United States, and the pirates are well armed."

He said the pirates are used to guide Mexican drug cartel operatives smuggling drugs to the U.S. side of the lake.

Gonzalez told WND his investigation indicated the Hartleys had jet-skied over to the Mexican side of the lake to photograph an old church that is visible on the lake bank near the Old Guerrero area in Mexico.

"Mr. Hartley was a history buff," he explained, "and they wanted to photograph the church at Old Guerrero.

Hartley worked in the oil industry, and they had just moved to McAllen, Texas, about five months ago."

Gonzalez told WND his investigation revealed that this week Hartley and his wife were planning to move back to Colorado where he planned to take a job with Calfrac, an energy company based in Alberta, Canada.

Gonzalez said the jet-ski incident was the fifth violent incident involving Falcon Lake pirates in recent months.

According to a Falcon Lake advisory published by the Texas Department of Public Safety on Oct. 1, the previous incidents reported were:

• April 30: Four heavily armed men boarded two boats near the Old Guerrero area demanding money. The bandits were given $200 in cash and tried to follow the U.S. boats as they sped back to U.S. waters. The bandits stopped once they reached the U.S. boundary.
• May 6: Two armed men approach a boat near Marker 14 on the north side of Salado Island on top of the ruins at Old Guerrero. The men demanded money, which the fishermen gave them.
• May 16: Five armed men boarded a boat on the U.S. side of the lake near marker 7. Investigators have no further information on the incident.
• Aug. 31: Falcon Lake pirates, using a small boat marked "Game Wardin" using duct-taped letters to possibly mimic Texas Parks and Wildlife vessels operating in Texas waters, attempted to stop a Texas fisherman. The fisherman's knowledge of previous Texas DPS warnings about Falcon Lake and the misspelling of the word "Warden" alerted the him that something was wrong, and he outran the Mexican vessel to safety.

"Fisherman are still advised to stay as far away as possible from any of the Argos-type fishing boats typically used as fishing vessels by Mexican fisherman," the Texas DPS warning alerted. "The robbers are believed to be members of a drug trafficking organization or members of an enforcer group linked to a drug trafficking organization who are heavily armed and using AK-47s or AR-15 rifles to threaten their victims."

Gonzalez said Mexican fishing licenses are sold in Zapata County to U.S. citizens that want to game fish on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake.

Still, he warned of the danger in doing so.

"Mexico has taken no steps to control the pirates," he said. "Mexican law enforcement authorities have routinely ignored our requests for assistance."

Texas Park and Wildlife Division Game Wardens and Texas DPS officers, including the Texas Rangers, have been at Falcon Lake since Thursday, assisting the Zapata County Sheriff's Office with the investigation of the jet-ski murder.

TPWD has deployed two 21-foot boats on the lake to search for David Hartley's body and his jet ski.

The Texas DPS has deployed its SWAT team, one of its helicopters and its riverboat to assist.

Still, Gonzalez is not confidant U.S. law enforcement will make any progress investigating the case.

"The incident occurred on the Mexican side of the lake, and truly we are at the mercy of the Mexican government," he said.

Following David Hartley's murder, Texas law enforcement agencies are telling boaters on Falcon Lake to stay on the U.S. side.