SAN ANTONIO — The Bexar County Medical Examiner confirmed Monday afternoon that the body found in a wooded area in northeast San Antonio on Friday morning is a missing Navy veteran from St. Louis.
The family of 26-year-old Jarvis McIntyre told KENS 5 on Saturday that they believed the body was him.
Monikki Williams Tippet, McIntyre’s mom, said she spoke with the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office and believed the tattoos on the body were consistent with her son.
“I was praying it wasn’t him,” Tippet said.
The medical examiner said an initial autopsy has been performed and found no apparent cause and manner of death. A complete toxicology report is pending.
San Antonio Police said a 911 call was made from the 1200 block of Holbrook Road at 1:36 p.m. on June 9. The caller stated that he was being chased by someone with a rifle but provided limited details on his whereabouts.
Police went to the scene but did not locate the caller or any witnesses, they said. At this time, detectives do not suspect foul play.
Tippet said she was informed by San Antonio police about the 911 call and was told McIntyre reportedly called a person chasing him a “racist.”
Tippet said the family is asking anyone who has any information about McIntyre’s death to come forward.
“I want answers now. I want this person found,” Tippet said.
The body was found around 9:15 a.m. Friday in a wooded area off the 1200 block of Holbrook Road, just over a mile north of John James Park.
Tippet said detectives told her McIntyre was found without a phone, wallet, keys, or shoes. She added, his body was decomposing.
"Thinking of my baby, how vibrant he was, lying in that creek, face down for that amount of time is disturbing," Tippet said.
Tippet and her family believe someone hurt McIntyre based on his skin color or his sexual orientation. She said McIntyre enjoyed standing out and being different.
“He didn’t deserve this. They took my baby’s life for no reason,” Tippet said.
McIntyre flew from St. Louis to San Antonio to visit his two sisters during his birthday weekend. He was supposed to fly home Sunday morning, but he missed his flight.
"We don't know why he missed his flight, but apparently he missed it but there's a gap between the time he should've been in the airport and him leaving his Airbnb," she said.
His mom, stepdad, brother and aunt flew to San Antonio from St. Louis, and since Wednesday they had been putting up missing flyers searching for any sign of him.
The family said they want the San Antonio Police Department to do more to help find the person responsible.
"They are treating this like a murder case," Tippet said. "It is being treated like a murder case."
Anyone who knows any information about this case is asked to contact the San Antonio Police Department at (210) 207-7660.
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