Body said found in San Roque

Police found Saturday afternoon a body and investigators are looking into the possibility that it may be the missing Filipino surveyor, Alex Matubis.

At least two police officers confirmed with Saipan Tribune yesterday that a body was indeed found in San Roque after receiving a call.

Sketchy information showed that detectives from the Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigation Bureau responded to the scene.

It was not clear whether the body was found in the jungle or in a house. There was also no information yet as to who found the body.

A source at DPS said there is a strong possibility that the body was of the missing Matubis.

Saipan Tribune tried to contact DPS Commissioner Santiago Tudela last night but he was not available.

The DPS information office is expected to release details about the incident today, Monday.

The 47-year-old Matubis has been reported missing since July 30 last year. The story of his mysterious disappearance was published in newspapers on Aug. 8.

Last Aug. 19, the surveyor was reportedly sighted in the Marpi area, leading to the discovery of his blue Toyota pickup truck near Kalabera Cave that same day. The truck’s hood was still hot when investigators found the vehicle.

Malou Matubis, wife of the surveyor, in an earlier interview with Saipan Tribune stated that after spending 45 days vacationing in the Philippines, Alex Matubis went back to Saipan last June 28.

Last July 28, Alex Matubis went to Tinian to do some project. The following day, Minda Castro, the husband of his employer, picked him up at the Saipan airport.

Malou Matubis said that, on July 29 at 10am, her husband sent her a large amount of money and that he left his passport in the barracks. Later that afternoon, somebody reportedly saw him withdrawing money from First Hawaiian Bank.

The surveyor did not return to his barracks that day.

On July 31, 2008, Castro called Malou Matubis to inform her that he was missing.

Malou Matubis flew to Saipan last Sept. 7 and repeatedly appealed to the community to help her locate her husband.

There were initial reports that Alex Matubis had been “acting strangely” after he came back from his vacation.

Malou Matubis said that if her husband is actually suffering from a mental problem, he could have somehow surfaced already. She then stated that someone is possibly holding him.

After failing to find her husband, Malou Matubis went back to the Philippines a couple of weeks ago. The Matubis couple have two children.