Game warden finds body believed to be man missing since July
Human remains were found Friday in far Southeast Bexar County near an area where a man missing since late July was last seen, officials said.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said they believe the remains likely belong to 38-year-old Curtis Perry.
A game warden searching on foot for evidence of poachers discovered the remains, Salazar said, near the 9000 block of South Foster Road. He called BCSO thinking the remains might belong to Perry, the sheriff said.
“We’re cautiously optimistic that these will be his remains,” Salazar said. “But again we’re going to have to get with the medical examiner’s office and have them look at dental records to tell us for sure if this is him.”
Along with the remains, deputies found personal items that may have belonged to Perry, such as clothing and identification.
Perry was last seen on July 29 near the 9400 block of South Foster Road. The Philadelphia man was in Houston visiting relatives and rented a car to meet people in San Antonio.
It is believed he was lured to Foster Road to be robbed by the suspects.
Investigators found video evidence that there was a confrontation along the road around midnight. The video showed Perry — who had possibly already been shot at that point — wrecked his car and fled on foot, Salazar said. Deputies believe the suspects then took his car and chased after him. The disabled car was later found in the area.
Salazar described the suspects as a group of juvenile and young adult criminals that have “zero regard for human life.”
“They preyed upon him and murdered him in about as cold blood as I’ve ever seen,” Salazar said. “And left him out here like an animal.”
Salazar is hoping to make arrests soon. The group is in custody in another county for unrelated but violent charges, Salazar added.
“We believe they’re linked to some other very violent cases within the city of San Antonio,” he said.
Officials have been searching for Perry since he was reported missing, even looking on horseback August 5 in the area where the human remains were found Friday.
A tip from a potential suspect in the case led deputies to search a home last Tuesday in the 300 block of Holmgreen Road.
The sheriff said the search ended after the suspect said he gave investigators false information.
Investigators questioned the tipster’s information after noticing inconsistencies in his story.
Deputies found stolen vehicles, weapons and narcotics on the property, Salazar said last week.
The area where the man’s body was found was about a mile from the road, “a bit more off the beaten path than we were expecting,” Salazar said. “The only way to access it is by boat,” he added, describing the path as muddy, thorny, cactus-ridden coyote trails.
“It’s a treacherous half mile,” Salazar said. “If the events unfolded on that evening as we believe they did, he was wounded and he was running from these suspects and cleared quite a distance even in spite of what we believe to be several gunshot wounds.”
“You can only imagine what his final moments were like,” he added.
The body found Friday was mostly skeletal remains that have been scattered by some animals, Salazar said.
“We’re not leaving here until we can get as much of a complete body as we can,” Salazar said. After finding the remains, investigators called Perry’s mother to let her know they may have found her son.
“We are going to get her some closure,” Salazar said.
If the public has any additional information on the disappearance of Perry, they may call the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office at 210-335-6070.
Liz Hardaway is a staff writer covering San Antonio government and politics. To read more from Liz, become a subscriber. [email protected] | Twitter: @liz_hardaway
