the border is that there are certain portions that are not controlled by the mexican government. and the area of falcon lake was directly controlled by the zetas, and this was a very strong smuggling corridor for them. reporter: so you believe this was mistaken identity? clearly, all evidence indicates that this was a case of mistaken identity based on the tactical intelligence i ve seen surrounding the case. the most likely scenario is, david and tiffany hartley had wandered into a drug war and were mistaken as the enemy. reporter: zapata county sheriff siggy gonzalez believes the hartleys not only wandered into a war but had arrived on the mexican side of falcon lake at the exact moment a cartel was
what most people don t realize when you re looking at the border is that there are certain portions that are not controlled by the mexican government. and the area of falcon lake was directly controlled by the zetas, and this was a very strong smuggling corridor for them. reporter: so you believe this was mistaken identity? clearly, all evidence indicates that this was a case of mistaken identity based on the tactical intelligence i ve seen surrounding the case. the most likely scenario is, david and tiffany hartley had wandered into a drug war and were mistaken as the enemy. reporter: zapata county sheriff siggy gonzalez believes the hartleys not only wandered into a war but had arrived on the mexican side of falcon lake
of david hartley. where is the body? the body was disposed of. there is no body. this is the international boundary. yeah. reporter: in his office in texas, county sheriff siggy gonzalez knows for a fact that david hartley will never be returned to the united states for burial. do you know how? yes. four different sources with different agencies have come forward and told us how they disposed of the body. reporter: those sources say the body of david hartley was placed in a barrel and burned. in colorado where she now lives, tiffany hartley refuses to believe her husband s body will never be returned. it s passed my mind, but i m not willing to accept it in my heart. i know my god and he s bigger than any one and any thing, and he wants justice just as much.
yeah. he was thrown off the jet ski and i couldn t pick him up to get him on mine. he was just too big. what is your name? tiffany hartley. reporter: when the story broke it was almost unbelievable. americans being fired on? a jet ski chase? a narrow escape and a dead husband whose body has yet to be found. when you are describing this horrific events, you seemed somewhat detached. the victim, at least in the eyes of some, was about to come under suspicion. [ as schwarzenegger ] show me the movies with the arnold schwarzenegger
where is the body? the body was disposed of. there is no body. this is the international boundary. yeah. reporter: in his office in texas, county sheriff siggy gonzalez knows for a fact that david hartley will never be returned to the united states for burial. do you know how? yes. four different sources with different agencies have come forward and told us how they disposed of the body. reporter: those sources say the body of david hartley was placed in a barrel and burned. in colorado where she now lives, tiffany hartley refuses to believe her husband s body will never be returned. it s passed my mind, but i m not willing to accept it in my heart. i know my god and he s bigger than any one and any thing, and he wants justice just as much.