The Miami Herald reported on 13 October that US fireman Frederick Golba had said there were hundreds of dead buried under mud slides in the southwestern town of Mesopotamia in San Juan de la Maguana province, and speculated that the government was covering up. But after three weeks of seeking to find these, Hoy newspaper reports that Golba and his trained dog, Amos, left the country leaving behind a report in English on his findings. In the report, addressed to the Armed Forces chief of rescue operations in the area, he thanks them for their hospitality and collaboration. He concludes that he was only able to locate three bodies. Hoy newspaper explains that the dog had scented the corpses of animals, buried in the mud slides, and confused these with cadavers. Golba and his dog combed the communities of La Mesopotamia, El Cepillo, Los Montes de Oca, Quijá Quieta and Guachupita, but found only three cadavers. He left his report in English with General Saladín Almánzar Estevez, chief of the Third Brigade of the Army, stationed in San Juan de la Maguana. The death toll for San Juan is 62 persons, with 26 missing. There has been much speculation of the death toll in this area, built between two rivers, which was flooded when the rivers returned to their original tracks following heavy rains caused by Hurricane Georges.
