A man's badly decomposed body is found my highway workers In the late summer of 1980, the life of Manuel "Babe" Garcia III, a 45-year-old Hispanic/Latino male, came to a violent and mysterious end in Salt Lake City. A husband and father, Garcia was last seen in the early morning hours of August 5, 1980. His evening began with friends at Johnny's Disco Bar on Redwood Road, where they stayed until closing time around 2:30 a.m. From there, the group moved on to a private party in the Rose Park neighborhood.
This would be the last time anyone reported seeing him alive.
Concerns for Garcia's whereabouts grew when he failed to return home. His 1980 silver Thunderbird, a noticeable car, became a key piece of the puzzle. Witnesses reported seeing the vehicle parked near the Jordan River Parkway around 8:00 a.m. on the morning he vanished. Inside the car were two men who remained there for several hours. One of the individuals was described as a Hispanic male in his late 20s or early 30s with a medium build, wearing a blue or black baseball cap. The other man was also male and possibly Hispanic. Two days later, on August 7, Garcia's Thunderbird was found abandoned and was subsequently impounded by police. A search of the vehicle revealed the ominous presence of blood evidence.
The grim discovery that confirmed everyone's worst fears came on the afternoon of August 12. Highway maintenance workers stumbled upon a badly decomposed body along the roadside in the area of 5550 West 700 South. The remains were identified as those of Manuel Garcia III. An autopsy would later determine that he had died from a gunshot wound to the chest. Garcia was known to carry large amounts of cash, a result of his involvement in drug dealings, and this money was missing from his body.
Despite the discovery of the car and witness descriptions of the two men last seen with it, the investigation into Manuel "Babe" Garcia III's murder grew cold. No arrests were ever made, and no specific suspects were publicly named. The identities of the two men seen in his Thunderbird on the morning of his disappearance remain unknown. Decades later, his case officially remains an unsolved homicide, leaving his family without answers and his killer, or killers, without justice.
