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A Texas community has been left devastated after a two-year-old girl who disappeared from her neighborhood was found dead in a nearby creek just a few hundred yards from her home.
Aryana Trevino Martinez went missing from her San Antonio neighborhood at around 8PM on Sunday, prompting authorities to issue an amber alert.
The alert was later canceled after the toddler's body was discovered, according to local reports.
Officials have not, as yet, confirmed Martinez's cause of death, and investigators are continuing to examine how the two-year-old managed to leave her home.
The heartbreaking discovery was made by 22-year-old Uriel Ramirez, who joined the search after the Amber Alert was issued.
His mother, Anna Marie Ramirez, told KSAT that the family immediately wanted to help.
"We need to be a part of this and help," she claimed.
Anna Marie explained that the search was almost impossible because of the tall grass surrounding the creek, but her son continued looking.
According to his mother, Uriel climbed onto nearby rocks before spotting the toddler in the water.
"As soon as he looked he said he saw her body and just jumped in without hesitating and carried her and brought her to everyone," Anna Marie said through tears.
Police received the missing persons report shortly after the child disappeared, and Martinez's body was found around midnight — roughly four hours later.
Recalling the moment, Uriel said: "I can't even put it into words."
He added: "She's like an angel and something led me straight to her, like a direct shot.
"My brain was just – that's where she is."
After recovering the little girl's body, he simply told his mother: "I found her."
According to the Amber Alert, Martinez was last seen at approximately 7:45PM wearing a black top and leopard-print trousers.
Investigators say surveillance footage appears to show the toddler walking toward the creek before she was found.
Authorities have not said how she came to leave the house, and the circumstances surrounding her death remain under investigation.
The case has left neighbors struggling to understand what happened.
"The first thing I thought, like everybody else, how did she get out there?" local resident David Alcantar told WOAI.
"How's a two-year-old get out that way?"
A vigil in memory of Aryana Trevino Martinez is scheduled to take place at 8PM on Tuesday as family, friends and members of the community come together to remember the young girl.
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A week-long search for missing Texas teenager Camila Mendoza Olmos has ended in tragedy after authorities discovered a body in tall grass near her family’s San Antonio home.
The 19-year-old vanished after leaving her house on foot early Christmas Eve morning, sparking urgent appeals and a large-scale search involving local deputies, the FBI and federal agencies.
Per News 4 San Antonio, the discovery has left her family reeling, particularly her mother Rosario Olmos, who was heard repeating the words, “So close to home,” after learning where the body was found.
Investigators say the remains resemble Camila, though DNA testing has not yet been completed to formally confirm her identity.
Police located the body late Tuesday night at Burnin' Bush, a landscaping business situated almost directly behind the Olmos family residence.
A firearm was also found nearby, adding another layer to the investigation as authorities work to determine exactly what happened.
Bexar County sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents said the body was found in a dense patch of grass during a renewed search of the area.
A 9mm Luger pistol was located nearby, the same type of weapon Camila’s brother Carlos reported missing from their home shortly after she disappeared.
Although DNA tests are still pending, a sheriff’s source told the Daily Mail that the remains match Camila’s description.
Authorities had earlier said they feared the teenager could be in “imminent danger” after she went missing, prompting assistance from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.
Frank Trevino, 69, a retired insurance salesman who helped lead search efforts, described the moment Rosario Olmos learned of the discovery.
“Her eyes were not there,” he told the Daily Mail, adding that she stared at a wall while repeating, “So close to home.”
It remains unclear how Camila died, though Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said deputies do not currently believe foul play was involved and are considering self-harm as a possibility.
“We developed some information that there may have been some suicidal ideations on Camila's part,” Salazar said.
“Undiagnosed, as far as we can tell. It sounds like this was a young person going through a very tough time in her life, going through some emotional issues.”
Camila’s family has pushed back strongly against that suggestion. Her father, Alfonso Mendoza, told the Daily Mail, “She would never do something like that her herself, to us. She just wouldn't. Not ever.”
Her mother also disputed claims that a recent breakup may have contributed.
“People talk. But they don't know my daughter like I do,” she said, explaining that the relationship ended amicably.
“It ended on good terms, in a lovely way,” she said, adding it “wasn't something she was depressed about.”
Surveillance footage obtained by KENS5 showed Camila leaving her San Antonio neighborhood just before 7am, wearing a hoodie and pyjama shorts.
Investigators said she appeared to be searching inside her parked car for an unidentified item before the video abruptly ended.
Her car was left behind, leading police to believe she walked away with only her keys and possibly her driver’s license.
Dashboard camera video later showed someone matching her description walking alone northbound on Wildhorse Parkway a few blocks from her home.
Camila, who lived with her mother and attended classes at Northwest Vista College, was known to take morning walks but usually brought her phone, which was found turned off on her bed.
Rosario Olmos recalled waking to find her daughter gone.
“I called her cell phone, but the cell phone was there on the bed and it was turned off,” she told KENS 5.
“I put it to charge and went out to look for her. I thought I would find her like other times - walking - and we would come home together.”
As the search stretched on, friends, volunteers and extended family from California and Mexico joined efforts around nearby neighborhoods, vacant lots and creeks.
“Giving up is not an option,” Rosario told the Daily Mail before the discovery.
Following the news, family and friends were seen sobbing inside the family home.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.
The mother of missing Texas teen Camila Mendoza Olmos was left devastated after authorities recovered a body in a field close to the family’s San Antonio home, nearly a week after the 19-year-old vanished.
On Tuesday, sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents discovered human remains in a Bexar County field, just a short distance from where Camila was last seen heading out for a walk on Christmas Eve.
According to those present, Camila’s mother, Rosario Olmos, appeared to be in shock as the discovery was made.
“So close to home,” she repeatedly said, according to Frank Trevino, who has been assisting with the search efforts.
“Her eyes were not there,” Trevino told the Daily Mail, describing Rosario’s reaction at the scene.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said the body appeared to have been in the field for approximately five or six days.
Authorities have not yet formally identified the remains or confirmed the cause of death.
The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office is continuing its investigation and is expected to provide further information in the coming days.
Officials confirmed that a firearm had been reported missing from the Olmos family home after Camila disappeared.
A gun was later recovered near the body in the field.
While authorities have not officially confirmed whether it is the same weapon, the Daily Mail reported that the gun found was a 9mm Luger pistol – the same make as the firearm reported missing.
A source also told the outlet that the remains matched Camila’s description, though formal identification is still pending.
Camila, who hoped to one day become an orthodontist, was last seen by her mother early on Christmas Eve morning.
Rosario believed her daughter was heading out on her usual walk.
Security footage from outside the family home showed Camila wearing pajama shorts and a black hoodie as she appeared to rummage through her car.
The video cuts off shortly afterward.
Officials later revealed that Camila had left her phone behind at home, something her family described as unusual.
Authorities had previously searched the field where the body was found, located roughly 250 yards from the family’s home.
However, they returned to the area after learning that dense brush may have prevented a thorough search during earlier efforts.
Sheriff Salazar said foul play is not currently suspected, with early indicators pointing toward “self-harm.”
He also revealed that investigators uncovered information suggesting Camila had been experiencing suicidal thoughts and signs of depression.
“It appeared she was a young person going through a very tough time in her life,” Salazar said, adding that Camila had been struggling with school, work, and the recent end of a relationship.
However, Camila’s father, Alfonso Mendoza, strongly disputed the idea that his daughter would take her own life.
“She would never do something like that to herself, to us,” he told the Daily Mail.
“She just wouldn’t. Not ever.”
He also pushed back on claims that her breakup had left her depressed, saying it ended mutually and respectfully.
“It ended on good terms, in a lovely way,” he said.
The sheriff said he hopes the medical examiner will identify the remains and confirm the cause and manner of death “in the next day or two.”
The investigation remains ongoing.
A Texas family is desperately searching for Camila “Cami” Mendoza Olmos, who mysteriously vanished early on Christmas Eve.
The 19-year-old was last seen on Wednesday at 6:58AM outside her home in a San Antonio suburb, Daily Mail reported.
Surveillance footage showed the Northwest Vista Community College student wearing baby blue pajama shorts, a black hoodie, and white shoes as she appeared to rummage through the back of her car before the video abruptly ended. Moments later, she disappeared without a trace.
Her longtime best friend, Camila Estrella, recalled their final phone call the day before. “She said, ‘Bye Cami, I love you,’” Estrella told the New York Post. “She was someone that was just full of love… This is so random, we never expected this.”
The teenager’s mother, Rosario Olmos, said she and her daughter had been sharing a bed when she felt Camila get up early that morning.
About 90 minutes later, Rosario woke up to find her daughter gone and her phone left behind on the bed with a dead battery.
“I called her cell phone, but the cell phone was there on the bed, and it was turned off,” Rosario told KENS. “I put it to charge and went out to look for her. I thought I would find her like other times, walking, and we would come home together.”
When she couldn't find Camila and confirmed her daughter hadn’t visited her boyfriend or father, she called the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
Officers arrived with scent-tracking dogs, but they were unable to locate the missing teen. “This was not a Christmas for us. It is a nightmare,” Camila’s aunt, Nancy Olmos, said. “We knew something happened. It’s just not Cami.”
Authorities have not confirmed any foul play, but the circumstances surrounding her disappearance have fueled concern.
Her car remained parked at the home, her phone was left behind, and she hasn't been seen or heard from since. The Bexar County Sheriff's Office considers her “possibly endangered.”
Loved ones spent Christmas Day scouring the area where Camila was last seen, clinging to hope as hours turned into days.
Close friend Isabela said Olmos’s behavior was “very out of the norm.” She added, “She’s always been the one to stalk on us and like, ‘Why aren’t you doing this?’ She’d make sure that her phone’s always charged.”
Estrella, who had made plans with Camila to go dress shopping for her boyfriend’s family event, said she fears the trail could go cold.
“We have nothing to trace her with. We have nothing,” she said of the limited surveillance footage.
The teen's aunt Nancy has issued an emotional public plea on social media: “Please help me and my family continue to share this. We are still searching for my sweet angel, my niece, Camila Mendoza Olmos, 19 years old.”
She also shared that Camila had recently been baptized and was deeply religious. “She loves God with all her heart, and we are desperately looking for her.”
Appealing to families gathered over the holiday, Nancy wrote, “As a sister in Christ, I am humbly asking for one special gift this year - in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ please help us by sharing these posts and, most importantly, by lifting Camila up in your prayers.”
“We believe in God’s protection, and we have faith that Camila will come home,” she added.
A Texas Sheriff has released a tragic statement urging parents to check in on their kids after a body was discovered in the search for missing teenager Camila Mendoza Olmos.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar confirmed that a body was found, although the identity has not been confirmed.
The search for missing Texas teenager Camila Mendoza Olmos has been going at pace since her disappearance from home in San Antonio on Christmas Eve.
Police released some grainy dashcam footage that they believed to be the 19-year-old walking by the side of a road near her home.
At the time, authorities had refused to rule out abduction or trafficking, and it had been confirmed that they had not ruled out her crossing an international border.
On Tuesday, it was announced that a body had been found ‘a few hundred yards’ from the teenager’s home, but added that it was ‘too early to tell’ that the body was certainly that of the missing woman.
At the time, Salazar confirmed that there was no suspicion of foul play, adding that ‘there are some indicators’ of potential self harm, although the cause of death has yet to be determined.
A number of descriptions were released during the search for Mendoza Olmos, and Salazar said that the body found had clothing ‘very similar’ to one of those descriptions.
The police had already checked that area once, but ‘due to tall grass, we felt that there would be a benefit to checking the area once again’.
10 minutes later the body was found.
A firearm was also found near to the body, and a family member had also noticed a firearm missing, the Sheriff said.
Again, there has been no confirmation that it is the same weapon.
Sheriff Salazar spoke in moving fashion about the teenager’s mental health, and urged families to look out for each other.
“There may have been some suicidal ideations on Camila’s part before. Some signs of depression, undiagnosed as far as we can tell. But, from what’s being described to us, it sounds like it was a young person going through a very tough time in their life,” he said.
He added that Camila was having ‘a tough time with school, with work, [and] with a relationship that had recently ended’, calling it ‘heartbreaking’ to learn about her life issues.
“I use this as an opportunity to remind everybody out there, whether you got kids this age or even well into adulthood, check on people and don’t take anything for granted,
“If you are going through a crisis yourself, reach out and get help.”
If you or anyone you know has been struggling with mental health or thoughts of suicide, please call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8.
A seven-year-old girl has been found dead in Texas after being kidnapped by a FedEx delivery driver, officials have said.
As reported by NBC News, Athena Strand was reported missing from her father's Paradise home on Wednesday evening (roughly 40 miles northwest of Fort Worth). The news of the girl's disappearance prompted a community-wide search involving approximately 200 volunteers from the area.
Tragically, Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin announced on Friday night that Athena's body was found southeast of the city of Boyd, roughly 11 miles away from her father's home.
Per CBS News, Akin told reporters on Friday: "We do have a confession," prior to announcing the death of the child.
"We knew early on in the investigation that there had been a FedEx driver, made a delivery in front of the house, about the same time that little Athena, 7-year-old Athena, came up missing," Akin told reporters.
The sheriff then revealed that 31-year-old FedEx contract driver Tanner Lynn Horner has been arrested on the charges of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping.
Officials have revealed that Horner - of Lake Worth, Texas - had delivered a package to the girl's home around the time she went missing.
CBS reports that Athena's stepmother reported her missing at around 6:40PM on Wednesday after the two had "an argument while her father was not home".
Investigators say that Athena is thought to have died "within the very hour or so" after going missing from her father's home.
Akin also indicated to reporters that Horner had confessed to the crime, with investigators reportedly obtaining "digital evidence" related to Athena's disappearance. No further details were provided.
Additionally, Akin did not state the exact location where the child's body was found, nor did he provide any motive or cause of death. It has been reported that Athena's body was located following a tip that investigators had received earlier in the day.
Horner is currently being held on $1.5 million bail at Wise County Jail.
FedEx is reportedly cooperating fully with investigators, CBS News notes.
As well as the hundreds of volunteers, the FBI, Texas Rangers Division, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, and the US Marshals Service all contributed to the search and investigation.
Our thoughts go out to everybody affected by this tragedy.
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