Contributed Photo/Courtesy GCSO: The body of Samuel Troy Romero Jr., 23, was located in the Gila River by a fisherman Tuesday. Romero had been missing for three weeks.
By Jon Johnson
PIMA – The body of Samuel Troy Romero Jr., 23, was recovered from the Gila River on Tuesday after he was spotted by a man fishing in the area off Center Street and down a few farm access roads.
County Dispatch received a call about a man floating in the river shortly before 2 p.m. Graham County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the scene, along with the Pima Police Department. Romero was positively identified through the clothes he was wearing and official Arizona identification located in his possession. His family was then notified that their three-week search was over.
According to a previous bulletin sent out from the GCSO, Romero was last seen either Monday, Feb. 18 at about 8 p.m. or Tuesday, Feb. 19 at about 9:30 p.m. northbound on First Avenue in Thatcher near the Gila River.
On Friday, March 8, a woman with drug addiction issues reportedly told her counselor that she and two other people murdered Romero. When found, there were no obvious signs of assault, but authorities preserved the scene and Romero was set to have an autopsy performed by the Pima County Medical Examiner.
The case remains under investigation with the Graham County Sheriff’s Office.
