HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A missing shrimper last seen on South Padre Island has been identified as 35-year-old Christopher Vargas from La Feria.
According to a release from the U.S. Coast Guard, Vargas fell from a shrimp trawler 35 miles off the coast of South Padre Island early Saturday morning. Vargas was last seen wearing a tank top and shorts. He was not wearing a life vest when he fell overboard.
His aunt Leticia Vargas said it is uncertain what happened to Christopher. She said going offshore to catch shrimp was a traditional job for him.
“This was his way of getting money for back to school, that’s what his wife was waiting for, that’s what the kids were waiting for, that’s what his intentions were for him to go out there, he’s been doing this for years,” she said.
ValleyCentral reached out to the U.S. Coast Guard but have not received an update on Christopher’s disappearance.
Although Leticia Vargas said the coast guard told her they had called off the search for her nephew, she encourages anyone with information to reach out.
“Reach out to us, let us know something so that we can have some closure at least and so he can rest with his dad because that’s all he’s ever wanted,” she said.
