A 2-year-old Texas girl was found dead in a creek just 500 yards from her home – with her neighbors recalling the heartbreaking moment her lifeless body was found.
Aryana Trevino Martinez disappeared in her San Antonio neighborhood at around 8 p.m. Sunday, prompting an Amber Alert to be issued and then canceled after her body was found, KSAT reported.
Martinez’s cause of death hasn’t been confirmed – and authorities are investigating how she walked out of her home.
The toddler’s body was found by 22-year-old Uriel Ramirez – the adult son of Anna Marie Ramirez.
“We need to be a part of this and help,” Anna Marie told KSAT, recalling the moment the Amber Alert was issued.
Anna Marie ran into difficulty searching because of the height of the weeds, but Uriel continued.
Uriel saw Martinez’s body in the water after scouring the scene from some rocks.
“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,” the mom said through tears.
Martinez’s body was found at midnight, around four hours after San Antonio police received the missing persons call.
“I can’t even put it into words,” Uriel said, relaying the moment he found the toddler.
“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.”
“I found her,” Uriel told his mom after grabbing the body.
Martinez was last seen at around 7:45 p.m. Sunday and she was wearing a black top and leopard pants, according to the Amber Alert that was issued.
Police say surveillance video shows the 2-year-old walking to the creek.
For an Amber Alert to be issued, investigators must have a reasonable belief an abduction has happened and the child is 17 or younger and faces imminent danger of serious injury or death.
There must be enough information about the child and alleged abductor to assist in the recovery of the victim.
San Antonio cops have said their investigation remains ongoing and local residents have been left baffled by the disappearance.
“The first thing I thought, like everybody else, how did she get out there?” David Alcantar, a neighbor, told WOAI.
“How’s a two-year-old get out that way?”
A vigil will be held for Martinez at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
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