La Joya firefighters believe they've caught one on camera and they say they'll keep believing that until someone proves them wrong.
Monday night, one of the firefighters shared the images exclusively with Action 4 News. La Joya Assistant Fire Chief Richard Flores isn't really afraid of ghost.
"Ah, it doesn't bother me, as long as he helps," says Flores, laughing.
In fact, a helpful ghost is what his crew believes they captured on camera at a tire shop fire, last week.
The tire shop is located at Moorefield Road and 7 mile line, in Hidalgo County.
"We had one of the firefighters taking pictures that night," explains Flores. "And when she took the picture she looked down at the back of the digital camera and it looked blurry and she thought she messed up."
But after printing the photos from a computer, it was a quite clear. The translucent image of a firefighter can be seen walking through rubble.
So was it simply a camera glitch or the paranormal?
"We started talking to people and they say digital cameras don't do that," says Flores. "Digital cameras will take pictures and then stop. They won't take pictures over ones that have already been taken."
And if it was indeed a ghost, he may have had some company, from another ghost.
Analyzing the picture closely, his wife points out a second image that closely resembles a man's face.
Asked about the second image, Flores says, "I can't place that one. The guy that really caught our eye is the one where you can see clear through him."
And before anyone claims they can see right through Flores on this one, he strongly denies altering the pictures on a computer.
"I'm not gonna be doctoring any pictures - I don't have time for that."
One thing is for certain, Flores has e-mailed the images to several neighboring fire departments and no one can seem to identify the mysterious firefighter.
"How it came about I wouldn't know. But there was a lot of firefighters out there that night and it was a pretty big fire. And I guess we had extra help."
Another puzzling detail is the fact that the unknown firefighter in the picture was wearing a blue hat. On the evening of the fire, everyone else was wearing black or white hats.
Flores says they'll continue asking to see if anyone can identify the firefighter. He feels, perhaps, it's the ghost of a fallen local hero.
