SEARCH CONTINUES FOR B'VILLE MAN MISSING SINCE MAY 12

By Juan Montoya
The last time Ramiro Avila (AKA Kimberly)was last seen in the streets of Brownsville was on May 12 in an alley between Madison and Jefferson streets behind the old Nebraska Apartments (Now Reypres Square Apts.).

Since then, his family has posted hundreds of fliers in downtown Brownsville trying to find out where he is, to no avail.

Detectives from the City of Brownsville Police Dept. have scoured the downtown area questioning residents of the apartments and nearby houses following a lead that Avila was seen arguing loudly with a man who was demanding that he return something that belonged to him.

Other leads say that the man, who some have linked as a member of La Maña, a shadowy, Black Hand-like group from Matamoros who engage in all kinds of criminal activity, including human smuggling across the nearby Rio Grande.

Still, there has been no progress reported in the search for the Brownsville man and his family continues to post fliers in the hope someone can tell them where he is or what happened to him.

Recently, a Matamoros tabloid reported that his body had been found in a steel drum found on the far northern reaches of South Padre Island National Seashore, but Cameron County Sheriff Dept. officials denied anything of the sort had occurred.

Other reports indicate that the man Avila was arguing with dragged him into a car waiting down the alley and that he was taken away to an unknown location. The fact is, that is the only indication that local police have that there might have been foul play involved in his disappearance. However, the possible association of his abductors with the criminal group has made people reluctant to provide police with any particulars in the case.

His family is still hopeful that the missing man may turn up and continue to search for his whereabouts.

Police are asking for the public's help to find the missing man's whereabouts. If you have any information, please call (956) 548-7000 or (956) 546-TIPS.