EDDY COUNTY, NM (KWES) - A missing man out of Carlsbad has been found dead. 27-year-old Michael Martinez disappeared Tuesday night. His family says close friends searching on horseback discovered his body Sunday evening. They say his body was found not far from where they had been searching. He vanished while at work at an oil field outside of town.
"He took off walking from the actual drilling rig," Jeff Duarte, Michael's Uncle, said.
Michael's employer, Jaime's Welding Services, says his crew looked around but couldn't find him. They headed back to town without him. Michael's family says the crew shouldn't have taken off.
"Once you go somewhere with a crew, you come back with the crew no matter what," said Duarte.
When the crew got back to town, they told Michael's grandparents that he didn't ride back with them. Jaime of Jaime's Welding Services says he didn't find out until the next morning. He says that's when he called authorities. Michael's family says they wish his crew would have called their boss right away.
"I don't think they notified them in the correct time of manner and the correct way," said Duarte.
Jaime says it would have been better is if he was told that night, and he would have gone out to search for him. He says the area where Michael was separated from his crew is not dangerous and there's a lot of traffic. He says the employees that were with Michael at the time have spoken with authorities and search and rescue. Michael's Uncle isn't convinced they have all the details leading up to his disappearance.
"I think it sounds fishy. I really do. They're not giving us the whole story and somebody's not talking," said Duarte.
Jaime told us they consider Michael as part of the family and are helping search for him. Michael's family has tried calling him but his phone goes straight to voicemail. They checked his bank statement and found his credit cards haven't been used. He was last seen at a Chevron drilling rig on Highway 285 and Whites City Road, right at the Texas, New Mexico border. Michael is 5'6" tall, weighs 135 pounds, and has brown eyes and hair.
