Point Reyes Light - July 10, 2003

Bolinas man found near death in bushes

By Victoria Schlesinger

A 48-year-old Bolinas man was found near death Saturday morning close to the town tennis courts at Brighton and Park avenues.

At press time, the victim, Candido Garcia, was still alive but in critical condition at John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek.

Deputies said that when Garcia was found, his face was swollen beyond recognition and that he sustained severe head injuries and scrapes to his face and torso.

The Sheriff’s Department this week was still trying to determine what happened to the native of Guatemala. "We can’t confirm if this is from a bad fall or a beating," sheriff’s investigator Brian Fay told The Light Wednesday.

"We’re trying to keep the door open on both possibilities. Our hope is that someone who saw something will come forward. We do think someone from the community knows what happened."

Need someone to talk

"If someone in the community did this, obviously we want to get to the bottom of it," investigator Fay said, "but someone will have to step forward with information."

Sheriff’s deputies are encouraging anyone with first-hand information about Garcia or his whereabouts between Wednesday and Friday to contact (confidentially or otherwise) investigator Fay at his direct line 499-7134.

Garcia, a Bolinas resident for several years, did odd jobs around town and often rode a red, beatup bicycle for transportation. He was known to have a drinking problem and lives with several of his brothers and sister downtown.

Garcia was last seen Wednesday near the Bolinas Postoffice by an employee of the Coast Café.

Wife hospitalized

As it happened, Garcia’s brothers had become concerned about his whereabouts that same day when they looked for the victim to let him know his wife in Coatepeque, Guatemala, (near the Mexican border) was ill and hospitalized.

A bicycle believed to be Garcia’s was found Thursday morning in the Bolinas community gardem not far from where his body was discovered two days later.

The Bolinas resident that found the bicycle told The Light that foliage in a 10-foot by 10-foot area surrounding the bicycle had been flattened with branches broken. Investigators have not determined the day the vegetation was trammeled but say it was caused by people.

When Garcia was discovered at 8:31 a.m. Saturday, he was lying face down in bushes behind the tennis courts’ bathrooms. He was fully covered by a blanket. Deputies said they found no blood or other evidence of foul play in the vicinity.

Deputies and Bolinas firefighters reported Garcia had almost no blood pressure when fire department medics arrived. Medics took Garcia by ambulance to Mesa Park, from where a rescue helicopter flew him to the hospital in Walnut Creek.

12 to 36 hours in bushes

Investigator Fay said Garcia had been lying in the bushes anywhere from 12 to 36 hours before being found and that so far no doctor is "willing to commit" to an explanation for the victim’s injuries.

Although deputies have been questioning members of Bolinas’ Latino community about Garcia’s recent whereabouts, officers noted that hundreds of revelers from the Bay Area were on Bolinas Beach the night before his body was found.

Garcia’s local relatives "are very concerned about Candido, as are gringos in the community," a longtime Bolinas resident and friend of the family told The Light.

Bolinas resident Mary Bromwell has established a trust fund at the Bank of Petaluma for Garcia’s wife and children in Guatemala. The number of children he was helping support has been alternately given as nine and 10.

Those wishing to contribute to the fund can make donations to the Fund for Candido Garcia or contact Bromwell at 868-1412.

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