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May 18, 2004Family says man was with RamirezThey're scared he was in bloody carByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - A second Texas man may be involved with an abandoned vehicle found in Leelanau County with bullet holes and spattered blood. The family of Manuel Longoria is fearing the worst after family members said he left Texas last month with Raul G. Ramirez, whose rental car was found last week deserted along a road in Bingham Township. Authorities have been searching for Ramirez since the vehicle was recovered. Authorities said they believe at least three shots were fired inside the car and that blood stains indicate that someone inside the vehicle was seriously injured. State police in Traverse City postponed an expected update in the case on Monday. But Longoria's family in Texas said he may also be involved in the mystery, since he left the state with Ramirez and hasn't contacted his family in almost three weeks. "We're hurting over here ... we don't know what to think," said Angie Longoria of Dallas, a sister of the missing man. "Supposedly, (Ramirez) is a friend of my brother's." Longoria said her brother left Texas with Ramirez on a train in mid-April. The family last heard from him on April 27, she said, and calls to his mobile telephone go to an answering service. He is 34 years old and lives in Alton, Texas, she said. Longoria, who said she was questioned by the FBI on Monday, is afraid her brother may have gotten involved in selling drugs in northern Michigan. One family member said Longoria talked of coming to this area to pick up close to $20,000. "We don't care if it was drugs or whatever. We just want to find my brother," she said. Authorities said Ramirez rented a car at O'Hare Airport in Chicago - the same car found abandoned last week in Leelanau County. Ramirez checked into a Traverse City hotel that same day - the last day police have a report of him being seen. Police found the car last week near Bingham Road between M-22 and Lake Leelanau and searched the area over the weekend with a helicopter and tracking dogs. Longoria said her brother had visited the area before and had some acquaintances here. She's hoping someone locally will know of his whereabouts. "He was known by people there in Traverse City," she said.
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