Parents Of Missing Texas Teen Positively ID Body As Their Son [UPDATES]

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, TX -- A sad post-script to reports of a Texas teen who went missing while on Spring Break: His parents have positively identified his body, found along the beach in neighboring Matamoros, Mexico.

The parents of the Fair Oaks teen traveled to the island, charged with the grim task of having to make a positive ID of their son. The frantic parents hadn't heard from Justin Walker, 18, since he was last seen nearly a week ago.

Walker was leaving a concert at the local Schiltterbahn last weekend before being separated from a friend among the crowd of young people celebrating their reprieve from classes. That's the last time anyone saw him alive.

On Wednesday, local law enforcement officials found a body matching Walker's description, but confirmation was needed to ensure it was the missing young man. The grieving parents provided that bit of needed protocol Thursday.

A former classmate of Walker's expressed the sadness that has resulted among those who knew Walker -- most pronounced the agony his parents must be experiencing -- in a week that began as youthful celebration.

"I just feel bad for his family and all of his close friends and stuff," said Reed Goetz told the Fox 29 news station in San Antonio. "I really cannot imagine the pain that they are going through, having to deal with something like this."

An autopsy to determine how Walker died is scheduled to be performed in Harlingen, Texas.

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From March 23:

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, TX -- Cameron County Sheriff's officials said a body found floating on the beach is likley that of a Fair Oaks Ranch teenager who's been missing since last week while on Spring Break.

A body was recovered early Wednesday at 3:30 a.m., officials said. The body matches the description of 18-year-old Justin Walker who went missing last Saturday after leaving a concert with a friend.

“The description of the body and what he was wearing, being a white male, wearing the UME bracelets, gives us an indication that it might be him,” Horacio Zamora from the Cameron County Park Rangers Office told reporters.

The 18-year-old went missing after a concert at Schlitterbahn over the weekend. He was separated in the crowd from a friend who had accompanied him to the concert.

Mexican authorities are attempting to secure fingerprints from the body to send to the Cameron County Sheriff's Office for an official confirmation.

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From March 22:

SAN ANTONIO, TX -- An 18-year-old man who had been on Spring Break in South Padre Island has been missing since early Saturday morning, and his family is increasingly desperate to have him back home.

Justin Kirby Walker was last seen leaving a concert at Schlitterbahn Waterpark at about 2:30 a.m., Saturday according to the Cameron County Police Department. He was officially reported missing about seven hours later.

The teen is from the community of Fair Oaks Ranch, an affluent community located 27 miles northwest of San Antonio.

"We just want to know where our boy is, and we just want to get him home,” John Walker, the father of the teen told KENS-TV in San Antonio.

The missing man’s father said his son was leaving the concert with a friend when they were separated in the crowd.

"He got separated from his best friend during the concert while they were walking away to go sit down and rest for while,” the missing man’s father said. “They were going through a big crowd of people. [His friend said] he turned around and Justin was gone, just like that."

The missing man was last seen wearing a navy tribal Zumiez shirt, dark shorts, Nike Janoski shoes and a black hat with the word “primitive” emblazoned on it written in red lettering.

Police say the man also has a faint scar over his right eyelid. He is described a fair in complexion, 5’ 9” in height, with brown hair and green eyes. He has no tattoos and weighs 175 lbs.

Park rangers found the missing man’s vehicle inside Isla Blanca Park near the concert tent area the day after he went missing. Search crews have been utilizing air boats, cadaver dogs and helicopters in their search efforts.

The search was called off at sundown Monday afternoon, but has resumed Tuesday morning.

The barrier island along the Gulf Coast of Texas has long been a popular destination for young people on Spring Break, luring tens of thousands of them every March. It’s a popular family summer vacation destination during other parts of the year, prompting construction of the Schlitterbahn water park in 2001.

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