NewsBody found on Chipper's ranch
Man likely died from extreme Texas heat and droughtBy Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com
08/21/09 10:38 AM ET
The dead body of a 22-year-old man was found Thursday morning on Chipper Jones' family ranch in southwest Texas, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.A ranch foreman discovered the man's body at about 6:30 a.m. local time. Jones' father, Larry Jones Sr., then called police and left a message for the Braves' third baseman on his answering machine, and Chipper Jones called his father back later in the morning, The AJC wrote.
Jones Sr. said the man had entered the country from Mexico illegally and that the extreme heat and drought would have made it difficult for him to survive without food or water.
"He was in a part of the ranch we don't go to on a daily basis," Jones Sr. told The AJC from his ranch in Carrizo Springs, Texas, on Thursday night.
The Jones family has owned the 10,000-acre ranch, located 130 miles southwest of San Antonio, since 2000. Named Double Dime Ranch because Chipper Jones wears No. 10, just like his father did in his playing days, it's home to 750 heads of steer and various wildlife. The ranch offers guided tours, a rifle range, stocked lakes for fishing and a hunting lodge.
Chipper Jones visits the ranch several times a year during the offseason and for Thanksgiving, The AJC wrote.
Alden Gonzalez is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
