DHS: Missing man crossed border

By TRAVIS M. WHITEHEAD
Valley Morning Star

BROWNSVILLE —Authorities have confirmed that a Dallas-area man who disappeared more than a week ago crossed into Mexico soon after his arrival here.
Harlingen Police Sgt. John Parrish said that, according to the Department of Homeland Security, Noel Shankle, who disappeared Feb. 3, crossed into Matamoros at 11:59 p.m. that same day. DHS would not release any other information.
“The case has been turned over to the FBI because we don’t have jurisdiction,” Parrish said Monday.
Shankle, 28, of Carrollton, had flown to Harlingen Feb. 3, planning to have some dental work done in Mexico the following day, his sister Natalia Shankle, said. He planned to return by Feb. 5.
She said her brother landed at Valley International Airport sometime around 6 p.m. and rented a 2011 silver Altima at around 7:40 p.m. He called his family twice that evening and hasn’t been heard from since.
Parrish said there was no information to confirm whether Shankle has since reentered the country, but DHS said he drove his rental car across the border.
His sister couldn’t think of any reason why her brother would drive into Mexico at such a late hour. She said when her family tried to contact him later in the evening he didn’t answer, and she wondered if he’d been coerced into driving across the border.
“The fact that he crossed and didn’t tell anyone, it’s getting really scary,” she said, her voice showing the fatigue and fear about the situation.
“It’s hard not to speculate, but I’m wondering how secure those checkpoints are if someone was hidden in the car,” she said. “I know my brother and he would not have gone that time of night in a 2011 vehicle unless he was forced.”
Natalie Shankle said her brother, the father of a 4-year-old daughter, stands about 6 feet tall and weighs 240 pounds. He works as a bouncer at a bar and grill in Addison called Social House, and she did not believe the business attracted the sort of clientele that would pose a threat to him.