Two of the San Marcos fire victims from San Antonio area

One victim from San Antonio, one from Carrizo Springs

Two of the people killed in Friday morning's devastating apartment fire in San Marcos are from the San Antonio area.

On Friday, officials listed the five unaccounted-for individuals as James Miranda, Haley Frizzell, Belinda Moats, David Ortiz and Dru Estes. Since then, five bodies have been recovered from the apartment complex.

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A nonprofit group with apparent ties to the Estes family reposted a message they said was from Estes' mother.

The post from the Strong Foundation reads:


I don't have the words to express what I'm feeling but thought I should share Cheryl Estes's post with you. 
We love you guys.
Pastor Jim
To all our friends and family....thank you so much for your prayers...even though we haven’t got confirmation we know Dru went to be with Jesus today...just know that he loved all of you and he loved life and he loved Jesus!! We can find comfort in the fact that we know he is smiling down on us and that we will see him again...my heart is breaking in a million pieces but I know we will see him again!!

Estes' Facebook page, which has been changed to a memorial page, shows that Estes attended Krueger Middle School and Roosevelt High School in San Antonio.

RELATED: Fifth body recovered from San Marcos apartment fire

Belinda Moats' aunt confirmed on her Facebook page that Moats was among the victims. Moats' Facebook page states that she graduated from Carrizo Springs in 2014.

The fire started just before 5 a.m. Friday at the Iconic Village Apartments in the 220 block of Ramsay Street. In addition to the five who were killed, seven others were injured. Only one suffered critical injuries. That person is being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center.

RELATED: Texas State grad says fire alarms didn't go off immediately says she had to jump from second story

On Monday, the San Marcos fire chief said 50 ATF agents are working to help determine the cause. The apartment building did not have sprinklers since it was built in 1970 and was not required at that time to have them.


About the Author:

Julie Moreno has worked in local television news for more than 25 years. She came to KSAT as a news producer in 2000. After producing thousands of newscasts, she transitioned to the digital team in 2015. She writes on a wide variety of topics from breaking news to trending stories and manages KSAT’s daily digital content strategy.