Rio Grande Valley Friends and Families of Murdered Children

Rio Grande Valley Friends and Families of Murdered Children

Proudly Introduces the RIO PROJECT COLD CASE HOMICIDE DATABASE: A Regional Initiative to Spotlight Unsolved Murders and Amplify the Voices of Victims and Their Families

The Rio Grande Valley Families and Friends of Murdered Children (RGV-FFOMC) is honored to announce the launch of the Rio Project Cold Case Homicide Database—a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to centralize and bring public attention to unsolved homicide cases throughout the Rio Grande Valley. This comprehensive and publicly accessible database will be a powerful tool for elevating awareness, supporting grieving families, and encouraging renewed investigative efforts.

Phase I – County Coverage:
The initial rollout will include unsolved homicide cases submitted from the following four counties:
  • Hidalgo County
  • Cameron County
  • Starr County
  • Willacy County

Each entry will be verified and submitted by either:
  • Local law enforcement agencies, or
  • Surviving family members seeking to keep their loved one’s memory alive and case visible.
RGV-FFOMC plans to expand the database to include additional counties across the region as resources allow.

Why This Matters:
Keeping a homicide victim’s case in the public eye not only honors their memory but also increases the likelihood of generating new leads, witnesses, or information that may help bring justice—visibility matters. Awareness saves cases.

How to Submit a Case:
Families or law enforcement agencies wishing to submit an unsolved homicide case for inclusion may do so by completing the official Case Summary -
Cold Case Submission - Google Forms

Submission Form. Submission does not guarantee immediate inclusion; all entries are subject to verification and review.

⚠️ Please Note:

Rio Project Cold Case is not a private investigative service. This initiative is strictly for public awareness and advocacy purposes. All investigative matters remain under the jurisdiction of the appropriate law enforcement agencies.

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167 cases found.
CCR: 09-04019
Date Reported: January 30, 2009
VICTIM DETAILS
Name Andres Ruiz
Age 23
Gender Male
Race Hispanic/Latino
SUSPECT DETAILS
Name unknown
Offense Murder
Cause Blunt Force
Location unknown
CASE DETAILS
Status Unsolved
Incident location S. Mile 10 on La Homa Rd.
Alton Texas, 78573
Hidalgo
L.E.A Hidalgo Co. Sherriff's Office
CCR: 88-20798
Date Reported: December 16, 1988
VICTIM DETAILS
Name Nina McCumber
Gender Female
Race Caucasian/White
SUSPECT DETAILS
Name Unknown
Offense Murder
Cause Gun/Firearm
Location Unknown
CASE DETAILS
Status Unsolved
Incident location E. of Mile 2 1/2 E. Mile 6 3/4 N.
Mercedes Texas, 78570
Hidalgo
L.E.A Hidalgo Co. Sheriff's Office
CCR: Unknown
Date Reported: August 25, 2002
VICTIM DETAILS
Name Michael Jason Buckelew
Age 30
Gender Male
Race Caucasian/White
SUSPECT DETAILS
Name Unknown
Offense Murder
Cause Gun/Firearm
Location Known
CASE DETAILS
Status Unsolved
Incident location 6315 Gold Avenue
Mobile home in the 6300 block of Gold Avenue
Edinburg Texas, 78539
Hidalgo County
L.E.A Edinburg Texas

Cold Case Spotlight

On August 25, 2002, at approximately 2:00 am the suspect(s) enter the residence and fatally shot Michael and Enedelia. The killings mystified Edinburg Police Department investigators and who have no clues who committed the murders of Jason Buckelew and his common-law wife, Enedelia Benavidez, 26, who were from Houston, Texas. They both were shot in the head located at 6315 Gold Street in Edinburg, Texas. Jason died shortly after at the Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, Texas and she died in San Antonio Texas Hospital. There was a third victim, Esmeralda Reyes, 26, who survived and remained in critical condition at the San Antonio hospital with a gunshot wound to the head. BENAVIDES and BUCKELEW were deaf and mute. This case remains unsolved. No Justice. No Peace.
CCR: Unknown
VICTIM DETAILS
Name Alfredo Garcia Brito
Age 34
Gender Male
Race African American/Black
SUSPECT DETAILS
Name Unknown
Offense Murder
Cause Gun/Firearm
Location Unknown
CASE DETAILS
Status Unsolved
Incident location Brownsville Texas, 78520
Cameron
L.E.A Cameron Co. Sheriff's Office

Cold Case Spotlight

The body of a 34-year-old man was found with gunshot wounds in the trunk of a car, 22 years later his murder remains unsolved. Credit: Cameron County Sheriff’s Office Alfredo Garcia Brito, 34, was reported missing to the Brownsville Police Department on Saturday, May 22, 1999, by his mother. On Sunday, the Cameron County Sheriffs’ office came across an abandoned car, a White Chevrolet Celebrity, on the outskirts of Brownsville. The abandoned car was later towed and placed in an impound lot. The owner of Raymond’s Wrecker reported a “foul unbearable smell” coming from the car on May 26, 1999, according to a release from the Cameron County Sheriffs Office.
CCR: 04-01590
Date Reported: January 19, 2004
VICTIM DETAILS
Name Hugo Cabrera
Gender Male
Race Hispanic/Latino
SUSPECT DETAILS
Name Unknown
Offense Murder
Cause Blunt Force
Location Unknown
CASE DETAILS
Status Unsolved
Incident location 3815 La Homita Rd
Mission TX, 78572
Hidalgo
L.E.A Hidalgo Co. Sheriff's Office
CCR: 88-6582
Date Reported: April 17, 1988
VICTIM DETAILS
Name Unknown
Gender Male
Race Hispanic/Latino
SUSPECT DETAILS
Name Unknown
Offense Murder
Cause Gun/Firearm
Location Unknow
CASE DETAILS
Status Unsolved
Incident location Basleline Road
L.E.A Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office
CCR: Unknown
Date Reported: October 26, 1992
VICTIM DETAILS
Name Marcelino Velazco
Age 17
Gender Male
Race Hispanic/Latino
SUSPECT DETAILS
Offense Murder
Cause Gun/Firearm
CASE DETAILS
Status Unsolved
L.E.A Cameron County Sheriff's Office

Cold Case Spotlight

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — In 1992, officers received a call about a body found along the banks of the Rio Grande. Nearly 30 years later, the case remains unsolved. On Oct. 26, 1992, the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office received information that there was a body buried along the banks of the Rio Grande in the area of FM 1419. The next day, investigators found a shallow grave with the body of a man wrapped in a blue tarp. After forensic testing, the body was identified as 17-year-old Marcelino Velazco. Velazco had previously been reported missing. He was last seen on Aug. 22, 1992, getting inside of a small, red two-door T-top vehicle at the 6000 block of Camelia Street in Brownsville. The Sheriff’s Office said that there were two “unknown” men in the vehicle. An autopsy revealed that Velazco was struck by a bullet in the upper spinal cord. In a 1992 report by the Valley Morning Star, Cameron County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Ernesto Flores said the murder was “drug-related”, stating Velazco had been involved in trafficking. Authorities said that the murder could have been connected to the slaying of three other men who were found on a Mexican ranch. Previous reports revealed that the suspects tied Velazco with a heavy rope and that his remains had been clawed by animals roaming the area. According to the Valley Morning Star’s report, Velazco’s mother told deputies that two men in Matamoros had confessed to the murder. The two men, Victor Rivera, 19, and Heriberto Ortego Ruiz, were incarcerated for confessing to the murder of three Matamoros residents. “I talked to Mexican authorities, and they said the men arrested never confessed to killing Velazco,” Flores said in the Valley Morning Star’s report. Those with information are asked to contact the Cameron County Crime Stoppers at (956) 350-5551.
CCR: 02-9484
Date Reported: April 21, 2002
VICTIM DETAILS
Name Fernando Fernandez De Cara
Age 52
Gender Male
Race Hispanic/Latino
SUSPECT DETAILS
Name Unknown
Offense Murder
Cause Blunt Force
Location Unknown
CASE DETAILS
Status Unsolved
Incident location 1 mile N of FM 1925 on Big Five Rd.
Edinburg TX, 78539
Hidalgo
L.E.A Hidalgo Co. Sheriff's Office
Fernando was murdered along with two others on April 21st, 2002. This case remains unsolved and no new information has surfaced in almost 2 decades. No Justice, No Peace.
CCR: 17-29602
Date Reported: July 26, 2017
VICTIM DETAILS
Name John Doe 12
Gender Female
Race Unknown
SUSPECT DETAILS
Name Aristeo Garcia Cervantes
Offense Murder
Cause Unknown
CASE DETAILS
Status Arrest Made
Incident location 8029 Dallas St.
Edcouch Texas, 78538
Hidalgo
L.E.A HCSO

Cold Case Spotlight

Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra announced Thursday that a 40-year-old Edcouch man recently confessed to killing a woman and dumping her body in a septic tank. Aristeo Garcia Cervantes, 40, of Edcouch confessed to killing a woman and hiding her body in a septic tank, Guerra said Thursday morning during a news conference at the Sheriff’s Office. Cervantes said he killed the woman roughly 10 to 12 years ago and didn’t remember her name, Guerra said, adding that investigators believe the murder occurred in 2004... The Sheriff’s Office started investigating the murder on July 26, 2017, when someone called to report human remains in a septic tank, Guerra said. Investigators went to a home near Edcouch, where Cervantes’ daughter and her boyfriend said they’d been having problems with the septic tank. When the boyfriend and another man attempted to fix the problem, they found a woman’s boot in the septic tank, Guerra said. After they removed the boot, they found a large bone — and called the Sheriff’s Office. Investigators sent the body to a private forensic lab in Virginia for DNA testing, Guerra said. The Sheriff’s Office researched missing women and welfare concerns during the time period, attempting to identify the woman. Investigators are currently talking with a family.
CCR: Unknown
Date Reported: May 12, 2005
VICTIM DETAILS
Name Alberto Castaneda
Age 74
Gender Male
Race Hispanic/Latino
SUSPECT DETAILS
Name Unknown
Offense Murder
Cause Blunt Force
Location Unknown
CASE DETAILS
Status Unsolved
Incident location Mile 10 N and Mile 1 W
Mercedes Texas, 78570
Hidalgo
L.E.A Hidalgo Co. Sheriff's Office

Cold Case Spotlight

When deputies arrived, they discovered the bodies of 52-year-old Reynaldo Castaneda and 74-year-old Alberto Castaneda. Newspaper archives indicate that the men were a father and his son. 74-year-old, Alberto Castaneda At the time, authorities said there was clear evidence of foul play. In January 2021 the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office asked anyone with information about the double homicide to come forward.