Update, 1:15 p.m., Thursday, May 7:
The National Park Service has responded to a request for comment from MySA. In an unsigned email, the U.S. Department of the Interior confirmed that National Park Service law enforcement responded to an incident on the Padre Island National Seashore, but did not confirm if the incident involved the discovery of potential human remains.
“NPS Padre Island National Seashore law enforcement personnel are responding to an incident on the beach. NPS law enforcement personnel are coordinating with Kleberg county (sic). An investigation is underway. No further information is available at this time,” the email reads.
“The Kleberg County Sheriffs (sic) Office is investigating what appeared to be human remains discovered Wednesday evening along the shoreline of Padre Island National Seashore, in Kleberg County,” the post reads.
The Record further reported that the rural sheriff’s office received a call for service at about 7:45 p.m., and that park rangers with the National Park Service were similarly notified and responded to the scene, where they “confirmed the remains appeared to be human.” The two agencies “then mobilized investigators” and secured the scene as they worked to identify the deceased, the Record reported.
However, neither the Kleberg County Sheriff’s Office, nor the National Park Service would confirm whether remains had been found, or that an investigation is underway.
“I can neither confirm nor deny,” Kelly Taylor, a public information officer for the National Park Service assigned to the Padre Island National Seashore, told MySA when reached via phone Thursday morning.
Taylor declined to answer further questions, including whether park rangers had received a call for service Wednesday evening. Attempts to obtain information from the sheriff’s office yielded similar results. A woman who answered the phone there also told MySA that the sheriff’s office could neither confirm nor deny the Record’s reporting.
“I’m not allowed to give out any information, but I can take your information and somebody can call you back,” the woman said.
MySA reached out directly to Kleberg County Sheriff Richard Kirkpatrick. He did not return a message seeking comment by the time of publication.