HELOTES, Texas — The family of a man found shot to death on the side of a road in Helotes is praying someone comes forward with information that could lead to an arrest.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office identified the victim on Friday as 51-year-old Pete Gonzales Eguia. Sheriff Javier Salazar said his body was discovered on December 9 in a wooded area off Escondido Road.
The Medical Examiner said he had died of multiple gunshot wounds. The sheriff said they were investigating the death as a homicide.
Eguia was reported missing in San Marcos before his body was found in Bexar County.
“We are devastated, and I think a lot of us are in shock,” Deborah Pesina, Eguia’s sister said.
Pesina said her mom last spoke with Eguia on December 1. The following week, she said her mom tried calling him several times, but his phone kept going to voicemail. By Saturday, December 9, the family called San Marcos Police and asked them to do a welfare check.
“As soon as I came home and I sat down, I opened Facebook and that’s where I saw they found a body with a large tattoo on his back,” Pesina said.
She said her brother had a large back tattoo. At that moment, she said she was scared.
That morning of the discovery, Sheriff Salazar said someone spotted a shoe while driving down the road in Helotes. They eventually found Eguia’s body. Salazar said it appeared he had been dragged off the road before he was dumped.
“He was a dad, he was a brother, he was an uncle, he was a grandfather, and he was someone’s son,” Pesina said.
Pesina said her brother was a caring man and loving father of two. She said the family is having a hard time coming to terms with how he died.
Sheriff Salazar said his 2017 Nissan was found on December 7 with front-end damage along Apache Canyon. That is about 23 miles away from where his body was discovered.
“We’re not going to stop looking, until we find whoever did this, we’re not going to stop,” Pesina said.
Pesina said she is praying someone will come forward with information.
“It’s the right thing to do,” Pesina said. “He wasn’t just a body; he was our family.”
If you have any information about the case, BCSO is asking that you contact them at (210) 335-6000 or bcsotips@bexar.org.