Missing Juárez officer's clothes found

By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 02/19/2008 12:00:00 AM MST

The bloody uniform of one of two missing Juárez city police officers was found Sunday, intensifying the investigation of their disappearance, Juárez state police said.

Officer Juan Hernández Sánchez, a 12-year veteran of the force, was last seen Feb. 11, according to his colleagues and his family. His car was still parked at the police station.

Sunday, a homeless man found a bag at Venezuela and Ignacio Zaragoza streets, containing what appeared to be the belongings of Officer Hernández. There were uniform pants and a uniform jacket embroidered "J. Hernández," and an undershirt with what appeared to be a blood stain. There was also some clear and gray adhesive tape, police said. The items were taken to the state's forensic lab for testing.

"It's very strange. We don't know if he was leaving work, if he changed. Now that we find this bag we gave it to state investigators," said Guillermo Prieto Quintana, municipal police chief in Juárez.

Another officer, Jesús Enríquez Solís Luévano, also vanished, although the circumstances of his disappearance were not clear Monday. That case is also in the hands of state investigators, city police officials said.