New Braunfels – A New Braunfels mother is desperate for answers after police say her son’s body was discovered by tourists in the Guadalupe River.
The discovery was made Friday. New Braunfels investigators were able to identify the body as Jesus Miguel Romero,18.
“He was an amazing kid,” said Rosalia Romero, his mother. “He was the man of the house. It was just us, and he would take care of us.”
The last time Rosalia Romero spoke to her son was Tuesday morning.
“I was asking around to his friends to see if they spoke with him,” she said. “I was getting different stories. Then, Thursday came around and I started calling all of the hospitals and jailhouses -- all the way from San Antonio and San Marcos. Nobody had a record of him.”
Rosalia Romero said she tried filing a missing person’s report, but police told her she couldn’t due to his age.
“They told me, ‘He is of age, and he probably just didn’t want to come home.’ I told them he would have at least called. They told me it didn’t seem like he left on concerning circumstances,” she said.
Later, Rosalia Romero said she got a phone call.
“My daughter calls me, and she is yelling. I said, ‘What is wrong?’ She couldn’t tell me. I hear my mom in the background crying. I knew something (happened),” she said.
Rosalia Romero said police told her the body belonged to her son, but she has not see him physically herself.
“I want to be able to identify my son,” she said. “They only said it was his tattoos that identified him. I want to see him. For some reason, his body is in Lockhart. I don’t want to see him like that, but I need to know. If it is not him, I need to go find him, but my heart is telling me it is him.”
Rosalia Romero is now left with only memories of her son, who she said loved being a tattoo artist.
Her favorite tattoo that he did for her is on her arm with all of her children’s names written in the shape of a heart.
“This is special to me because this is, like, the key to my heart, my son,” she said through tears.
Now, with so many unanswered questions, rumors and claims in the community, Rosalia Romero said she is desperate for the truth behind what happened to her son.
“Someone is not saying something,” she said. “I feel like someone did something to my son and is not saying anything, or they know something and they are not saying anything. Just please, I need closure. I need to know. Any information, please just tell me.”
New Braunfels police have not said whether or not Jesus Romero died by foul play. At this time, the cause and manner of his death is undetermined, pending the autopsy and ongoing investigation.
