The body of a missing 12-year-old boy with autism was found in a New Orleans canal this week after a nearly two-week search, and now police say he died from "blunt force due to an alligator" and drowning.
Bryan Vasquez, who is nonverbal, was first reported missing the morning of Aug. 14 after reportedly escaping through his bedroom window. Police didn’t respond to the missing child call until five hours after it was reported.
Boy’s death sparks criticism
What we know:
The boy’s mother, Hilda Vasquez, 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.
He was seen on doorbell camera footage, wearing only a diaper and walking down the street alone, around 5:20