THE CASE OF THE HOLY FAMILY MISSING BBQ GRILL; A TALE OF HIGH INTRIGUE AND CREDIT TAKING

By Juan Montoya
Parishioners at the Holy Family Catholic Church in the hear of the 421 barrio were miffed late last week they got to the church and saw that someone had relieved them of a super-super BBQ grill donated by one of their members to help with the church's fund-raising activities.
Chayo Leal, the donor, couldn't believe that thieves would actually steal the grill from the church's parking lot where two other grills were also stored.
"I donated the grill to the church," Leal said. "Someone just hitched up the grill to a car and drove off with it."
Immediately, word got around about the church's missing grill and the barrio went to work. Down the road, toward Southmost, El Leon de la Southmost was alerted to the missing BBQ grill and the eyes and ears of the barrio were put on high alert.
When Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz heard about the grill heist, he enlisted the assistance of his bods at law enforcement and reached out to social media through his web site asking for assistance in finding the missing griller. That was Friday and the grill was to have been used on Sunday for a church fundraiser.
Throughout the weekend, Leal said that he had received countless tips of the whereabouts of the missing grill.
"Someone told us that they had seen it being pulled across the Gateway Bridge in a truck that someone owns here in the neighborhood," he said over the weekend.
Late Saturday, an anonymous tip directed Leal to the whereabouts of the missing BBQ grill. Apparently, the heat had gotten to be too much for the thieves and they had parked in in  parking lot near the Wal Mart on Boca Chica. Throughout the ordeal, people came out of the woodwork to lend a hand. One man even volunteered to use his own BBQ grill to help the church.
We are not aware that there was ever a police report made on the theft, or if the DA and Leal counted on the social media to track down the missing grill. But, apparently, something worked.
Curiously, one of those that reached out to the DA was none other than Cheezmeh's Erasmo Castro. You remember him. During the last campaign for DA he sided with Carlos Masso and posted some of the most disgusting personal attacks against Saenz, accusing him of everything from womanizing to siring illegitimate children. Apparently, that is water over the bridge and they have kissed and made up.
Castro has had his run-ins with the law in the past and has been hauled into court for forging documents to bilking people though his family's notary public business. However, he has apparently seen the light and earned a theology degree and gotten on the straight and narrow.
Like good churchgoers, apparently the errant grill gave Castro a chance to atone for past transgressions and he joined forces with Da top lawman of the county to track down the mobile grill. All apparently, is forgiven.
Aside from the demonstrated effectiveness of word of mouth and social media in this case to track down the BBQ grill, we wonder whether this method will replace the old-fashioned reports to the local cops to solve larcenies big and small.
In any case, with so many eyes and ears looking for the missing grill, it shows what an alert community joined in a common cause can achieve. The grill is back and all is well. Cook we will!