Authorities find California man's body after boat runs aground in southern Mexico

The body of a man believed to be John J. Long, of Alameda, Calif., was found floating Saturday afternoon near the town of Puerto Madero, just north of Mexico's border with Guatemala, U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Judith Bryan said.

One of Long's three sons, Philip Long of Castro Valley, Calif., said family members were "shocked" to hear of his father's death. At the same time, he said, they knew Long's plan to sail around Cape Horn and back to his native Ireland carried some risk.

"The more we fought him on it, the more he wanted to do it," Long said in a phone interview. "At least he was doing what he wanted to do."

It was unclear how Long died or why the boat grounded. Bryan said he sent a distress signal from the 48-foot boat, "Culin," which bore Irish, Mexican and U.S. flags. The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed its Alameda center received an alert.

Authorities in Puerto Madero told the U.S. Embassy the boat may have encountered electrical problems, she added.

Meanwhile, Mexican authorities were investigating whether the boat was linked to organized crime or drug trafficking after they discovered a false bottom, according to a navy official who asked not to be named for security reasons. He said Long was found with bruises all over his body.

Residents of a nearby town saw two people carrying suitcases leave the boat, said Saul Gomez, head of a local fishermen's group.

Two people were detained in connection with the incident, state police spokesman Bernardo Gomez said, but it was not clear if they were the same pair.

Philip Long said he last spoke to his father about a week ago, when the ex-merchant marine and craftsman carpenter called to say he was leaving Mexico for Panama.

Frustrated because he didn't speak any Spanish, John Long was considering cutting through the Panama Canal instead of sailing around the cape, the son said.

He categorically denied that his father could have been engaged in drug-running or any other kind of smuggling, saying, "There's no way in hell I would believe my dad would do anything like that."

A gas station manager in the northwestern Pacific port of Manzanillo, told The Associated Press Monday he sold motor oil to the man about eight to 10 days ago.

"He was telling me that he was going to Panama and then to Rio de Janeiro," said Francisco Bartida, 23. Bartida spoke in English to the AP and said he also spoke in English to Long.