Missing U.S. man found dead in Mexico; 2 arrested
The body of a U.S. man who had been missing since Feb. 11 has been found in a clandestine burial pit on Mexico's Baja California peninsula, prosecutors in the state of Baja California Sur said Wednesday.
State prosecutor Daniel de la Rosa said a local man and his sister had been arrested in connection with the killing, which he said apparently stemmed from a dispute over a traffic accident.
The body of Wilmer Trivett was found by a specially trained dog near the quiet Pacific coast town of Todos Santos.
Trivett had been camping in the area in his camper truck, which was found burned Feb. 23.
Prosecutors said Trivett apparently was involved in a traffic accident with the two suspects some time ago.
De la Rosa said Trivett paid the two about $2,500 for damages or injuries, but he alleged the pair decided it wasn't enough and later abducted and killed him.
The two suspects face homicide charges. Their full names were not given, in accordance with Mexican law.
Prosecutors listed Trivett's age as 80, but did not provide a hometown. However, U.S. television stations in have reported Trivett was from Markleeville, California, near Lake Tahoe.
Meanwhile, the FBI last week said it was offering a $40,000 reward for information leading to the location of a 29-year-old American woman who went missing in Mexico back in November of last year. Monica de Leon Barba was last seen walking her dog home from work in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, Mexico, on Nov. 29. Friends and family allege she was abducted, and say she was last seen being forced into a van.
