Although online sleuths had already identified nearly half of them, CBS today announced the identities of sixteen of the castaways who will be competing on its upcoming Survivor: Guatemala -- The Maya Empire series. Survivor: Guatemala, the eleventh installment of the network's long-running Survivor reality show, will premiere Thursday, September 15 at 8PM ET/PT.

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Interestingly, while today's CBS announcement reveals the identities of sixteen castaways, the network's previous announcement had stated that Survivor: Guatemala would feature eighteen castaways. Today's carefully phrased announcement also made no mention that the sixteen castaways revealed today comprise Survivor: Guatemala's entire cast. When reached by Reality TV World and asked to clarify the discrepancy between the two announcements, a CBS spokesperson had no comment.

Taken together, the network's actions would appear to add significant fuel to earlier rumors that Bobby Jon Drinkard and Stephenie LaGrossa -- the hardworking final two members of Survivor: Palau's incompetent Ulong tribe -- participated in Survivor: Guatemala's production. While the unconfirmed reports had placed the Bobby Jon and Stephenie onsite in Guatemala, it had remained unclear whether the twosome had actually been allowed to compete as returning contestants.

According to CBS, Survivor: Guatemala's castaways will begin their adventure with an eleven mile hike through the jungle. At the end of their hike, they will arrive at an ancient Mayan ruins and ceremonial site (reported to be located within Guatemala's Yaxhá national park) where they will "be faced with two additional surprises" that will "dramatically impact how they play the game" -- statements that would seem to fit well with the idea of Bobby Jon and Stephenie joining the $1 million competition.

The sixteen castaways that CBS disclosed in today's Survivor: Guatemala cast announcement are:

• Brandon Bellinger, a 22-year-old farmer/rancher from Manhattan, Kansas.





• Danni Boatwright, a 30-year-old sports radio talk show host/model/actress and former 1996 Miss Kansas USA from Tonganoxie, Kansas.




• Margaret Bobonich, a 43-year-old family nurse practitioner from Chardon, Ohio.





• Brian Corridan, a 22-year-old recent Columbia University graduate who is originally from New Milford, Connecticut.




• Cindy Hall, a 31-year-old zoo keeper from Naples, Florida.





• Gary Hogeboom, a soon-to-be 47-year-old former NFL quarterback and real estate developer from Grand Haven, Michigan.




• Rafe Judkins, a 22-year-old recent Brown University graduate who is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.




• Jim Lynch, a 63-year-old retired fire captain from Northglenn, Colorado.





• Morgan McDevitt, a 21-year-old magician's assistant and waitress from Decatur, Illinois.




• Lydia Morales, a 42-year-old "fishmonger" living in Lakewood, Washington who is originally from Okinawa, Japan.




• Jamie Newton, a 24-year-old water ski instructor living in North Hollywood, California who is originally from Douglas, Georgia.




• Amy O'Hara, a 39-year-old police sergeant from Revere, Massachusetts.





• Judd Sergeant, a soon-to-be 35-year-old hotel doorman from Ridgefield, New Jersey.





• Brooke Struck, a 26-year-old recent law school graduate living in Santa Monica, California who is originally from Hood River, Oregon.




• Blake Towsley, a 24-year-old commercial real estate broker/model from Dallas, Texas.





• Brianna Varela, a soon-to-be 22-year-old retail sales/make-up artist from Edmonds, Washington.

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