Survival Update

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He Survived a Brutal Kidnapping Only to Be Slain Years Later

A Texas man survived a drug-related kidnapping only to be caught again years later and executed gangland-style!

Genaro Melendez, 30, was the lone survivor of a drug-related kidnapping. Once he survived that harrowing incident, Melendez believed he was in the clear. But he was kidnaped again in 2001 – and this time, whatever good fortune he had, had run out. Melendez was lured into a vehicle at approximately 2:30 a.m. on June 5, 2001, to never again be seen alive. 

Now, decades later, authorities continue to look for his murderer.

After being pooched for the second time, presumably by the same drug dealers or gang members, a few days later, Melendez’s body was discovered in an empty field, near Boca Chica Beach in the Rio Grande Valley – an area known to be a hotbed of MS-13 and other drug and gang activity. 

His body was found “tied up and had sustained three shots through the head,” according to Cameron County Sheriff at the time, Conrado M Cantu.

Sheriff Cantu told reporters from the Brownsville Herald that Melendez’s body appeared to have been killed “execution-style.”

The investigation revealed that Melendez’s murder, like his original kidnapping, was drug-related.

The Cameron County Sheriffs Office does have a person of interest in this case; however, no arrests have been made, and the case remains active.

If you have any information on this case, please call the Cameron County Crime Stoppers at their hotline: (866)-350-5551 or (956)-350-5551.