Cher Lynn Hughes Murder Arrest? Two Foreigners Detained at Costa Rican Border

By: Caroline Black
Topics: Daily Blotter

Cher Lynn Hughes Arrest? Two Foreigners Detained at Costa Rican Border

William &quot;Wild Bill&quot; Adolfo Cortez (PanamaGuide.com/Don Winner)

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (CBS/AP) Authorities in Nicaragua have detained two foreigners who Panamanian officials say may be the couple wanted in the disappearance and death of American expatriate Cheryl "Cher" Lynn Hughes.

Soldiers posted at the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica arrested the couple after they failed to heed warnings and stop at the border.

Authorities believe there is a possibility that the wanted couple, who go by the names of William "Wild Bill" Adolfo Cortex and Jena Seana Cortez, could have fled north from Panama to Nicaragua after learning that they were wanted for several murders, including the killing of Hughes.

Panama assistant prosecutor Angel Calderon said the detainees "have similar characteristics" to "Wild Bill" and his wife, but have identified themselves as an American man and a Dutch woman with names that did not coincide with the Panama suspects.

According to Don Winner, a journalist at PanamaGuide.com, Panamanian authorities are searching for "Wild Bill" and his wife because they are the primary murder suspects in the cases of at least two American expatriates, Cher Hughes and Bo Icelar, and of a third man in Panama.

The body of Hughes, as well as the body of a man with the last name Brown, were found on the property now occupied by "Wild Bill," reports PanamaGuide.com.

Winner, who was contacted by Hughes' family and has been investigating her disappearance on their behalf, believes the people were murdered by "Wild Bill" because he wanted to steal their properties and belongings.

William Cortez is described as a 35-year-old white male with long blond hair, gray/green eyes, full blond beard and mustache, 5' 9" tall, and weighing about 280 pounds. His wife Seana Cortez, is approximately 5" 5" tall, about 200 pounds, with red hair and blue eyes.

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
July 27, 2010 - Cher Lynn Hughes Murdered in Panama; Texas Man Suspected in Death of American Woman