Body found in Blanco

The body of a man missing for more than two weeks was found in the Blanco River on Saturday.

The city said a hiker made the gruesome discovery in the 1800 block of River Road mid-afternoon, after which emergency crews responded to the scene.

Omar Maya-Rangel, 32, a resident of Kyle, was identified through tattoos and the ID found in his pocket. He had been reported missing on Dec. 28, and his vehicle was found Dec. 31 near CR 266. That’s a significant distance downstream from where his body was located, which is in the area of the railroad trestle bridge. The Blanco River also enters the San Marcos River in between the two locations.

After he went missing, Maya-Rangel’s father conducted his own search, talking with people who lives along the stretch of the San Marcos River where his body was found.

Initially, the missing person investigation centered on Caldwell County because that is where the vehicle was found. However, the Hays County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release on Jan. 4 that mentioned, as per information from his family, that Maya-Rangel had mental health issues at the time of his disappearance.

He was pronounced dead by Hays County Justice of the Peace Maggie Moreno, who ordered an autopsy to be performed by the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The city sent out a press release about the discovery, saying the SMPD’s Criminal Investigations Division is looking into the death. The release included a special note to news media that the police department “will not be conducting interviews” regarding the incident.