Mexico Returns Car of Missing Couple

A missing Newport Beach couple’s sport utility vehicle was returned Saturday from Mexico, and police said they hoped it would yield clues to their whereabouts.

“We just don’t know whether they’re alive or not,” Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve Shulman said.

Thomas C. and Jackie E. Hawks, 57 and 47, respectively, vanished last month after selling their 55-foot yacht to Skylar Julius Deleon of Long Beach for $400,000.

Deleon, 25, was being held on $250,000 bail after his arrest Friday on suspicion of money laundering.

His arrest came after the couple’s 1998 Honda CRV was found in Ensenada, but police did not explain a possible connection.

The Mexican man who was driving the couple’s vehicle is cooperating with authorities and providing leads, Shulman said, and the California Highway Patrol’s liaison to Mexico was helping local police with the investigation.

“We’ve made significant progress in this case in the last week or so,” Shulman said. “And if there’s a person who has information about this case, this would be an appropriate time to come forward.”

The couple were reported missing by relatives several days after they gave the buyer a test ride aboard their yacht, the Well Deserved, on Nov. 15. The boat was returned to its dock near 15th Street that night, but the couple have not been seen since.

The Hawkses, who have been married 17 years, have not used their cellphones, credit cards or bank accounts, police said.

“The outlook is not good,” said Ryan Hawks, 28, referring to the discovery of his parents’ SUV. “But ... hopefully the car is a positive thing because it will possibly tell a story of the whereabouts of my parents. And so I’m looking forward to that.”