By Juan Montoya
A local television station is reporting that authorities have confirmed that a body found in the Laguna Madre has been identified as Ray Marchan.
Action 4 News is not reporting their source, but say that the body was found Thursday afternoon. later in the day, Cameron County Sheriff Department Chief Deputy Gus Reyna confirmed Marchan had been found in a channel near Port Isabel.
Marchan, a Port Isabel native and attorney convicted of racketeering in the Abel Limas corruption scandal apparently jumped off the Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge in the early pre-dawn hours today.
Authorities have yet to determine whether Marchan was attempting to commit suicide or whether there is more involved in the matter.
The only witness was a taxi driver who said he picked up defendant Ray Marchan at his Brownsville home on Firestone Drive and was taking him to an undisclosed address on South Padre Island.
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ABC Taxi driver Lorenzo Hernandez told reporters with the local daily that Marchan had him stop at the highest point of the bridge at about 4:15 a.m saying he wanted to vomit but then dove off instead.The U.S. Coast Guard has been searching for the body since it was reported.
Port Isabel Justice of the Peace Bennie Ochoa confirmed the reports that it had been Marchan who was the person that jumped. He was to report to a federal prison in Fort Worth today to begin serving a 42 month sentence on the Limas-related racketeering charges.
A local television station reports that Marchan is wearing an electronic brace.
"I have a lot of respect for Ray and for the family" Ochoa told a television station. "I can't say too much until I see the body."
Cameron County is said to be the lead investigation team on this case.
Channel 5 reported earlier that Coast Guard crews had been searching the area for about eight hours. They said if Marchan drowned, it could take 48 hours for his body to surface. The broadcasters say that his daughter found a suicide note, stating he didn't want to report to prison.
He had been free since his sentencing in December.
The U.S. Attorney's Office declined comment.
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