PECOS — Hector Flores Jr., a Fort Stockton man who went missing with his 9-year-old daughter in Big Bend National Park this February, was found guilty of child endangerment by a federal jury last week.
A sentencing date has yet to be determined, but Flores will serve anywhere from 6 months to 2 years in jail and be required to pay a fine of up to $10,000.
Flores, 49, was arrested and charged with child endangerment after he and his daughter, identified in court documents by her initials L.F., were discovered by Mexican officials near Boquillas Del Carmen over a week after they were initially reported missing from the national park.
A multi-agency land and air search was launched on February 5 after park rangers and volunteers discovered the pair’s abandoned vehicle off of Old Ore Road, a remote area of the park. Flores and his daughter traversed around 20 miles of desert terrain and crossed illegally into Mexico with little food, water and improper clothing, previous testimony by FBI Agent Alice Downie, who assisted with the investigation, stated.
Court proceedings for Flores, who has been held without bond, have been ongoing, with the two-day trial taking place in the U.S. Western District Court of Texas’ Pecos courthouse. The case was tried by the U.S. District Judge David Counts, with criminal defense attorney Shane O’Neal representing Flores and assistant U.S. attorney Scott Greenbaum representing the prosecution. L.F. testified at the trial along with agent Downie and a number of park rangers.
According to the charges, the prosecution was arguing Flores “intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or with criminal negligence” took part in conduct that placed L.F. in “imminent danger of death, bodily injury or physical or mental impairment.”
O’Neal argued L.F., who upon discovery was not taken to a hospital and appeared uninjured, was never in such danger. He plans to appeal the jury’s verdict.
“Both Mr. Flores and I were disappointed with the jury’s verdict. The evidence came out largely how we expected it to and showed that his daughter was really nowhere near being injured,” said O’Neal.
During the trial O’Neal said he argued Flores and his daughter’s journey on foot to Mexico started because their car had broken down, while the prosecution argued a level of intentionality to the trip. In previous hearings, FBI Agent Downie testified that Flores had been researching survivalist methods, had told acquaintances he wished to live off grid and took his daughter out of school in early January and never re-enrolled her.
Downie also said L.F. reported the pair’s food supply ran out after three days of camping and hiking. And because their water supply was quickly dwindling, her father utilized water purification tabs in order to consume found water. L.F.’s clothing, according to Downie, was not suitable for the subfreezing temperatures and heavy rains which took place in the park during their disappearance.
The U.S. attorney’s office considers the case still pending and declined to comment further.