A missing 12-year-old boy with autism likely died following an alligator attack, police said Wednesday. A nearly two-week-long search resulted in his body being found in a New Orleans canal this week.
Bryan Vasquez was first reported missing on the morning of Aug. 14, after he reportedly escaped through a bedroom window on the East side of the city, the New Orleans Police Department said. Vasquez, who is nonverbal, was seen on doorbell camera footage, wearing only a diaper and walking down the street alone, around 5:20 a.m. local time that morning. His body was found on Tuesday, located by a drone.
The boy’s mother, Hilda Vasquez, had told The New Orleans Advocate/The Times-Picayune that her son would often sneak away from their home to head to a playground nearby. However, they’d recently moved to a new house.
Bryan’s disappearance prompted a massive search that included multiple agencies, volunteers, airboats and bloodhounds.
As local and state crews combed the area, criticism mounted over the New Orleans Police Department’s delayed response. Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said that there was a nearly five-hour gap between when the boy was reported missing and an officer arriving at the scene. The boy was found about 200 yards from where the search had started. Kirkpatrick said it is possible his body resurfaced after he died, which is common in drowning deaths.
A police department spokesperson confirmed to CBS News in an email Wednesday that the Orleans Parish Coroner determined Bryan’s cause of death “was drowning with blunt trauma consistent with an alligator attack.”
As a result, the case has now transitioned from a missing juvenile investigation to an unclassified death investigation led by the police department’s homicide division, the spokesperson said.
“Detectives are actively pursuing every lead and reviewing all circumstances surrounding Bryan’s death,” the spokesperson disclosed. “At this time, no individual has been charged or identified as a suspect. The investigation remains open and active, and updates will be shared as they are confirmed.”
In a separate news release, city officials described Bryan as “a bright, charismatic, and energetic young boy whose joy and spirit touched the lives of his family, friends and community.”
Kirkpatrick said she has asked the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to remove “nuisance” alligators from the area where Bryan was found.
According to the wildlife agency, hunters capture and remove more than 1,000 nuisance alligators every year in an effort to minimize encounters between the alligators and humans. Louisiana is home to the largest alligator population in the country.
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