Alligator Killed Missing 12-Year-Old in New Orleans, Coroner Confirms

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Blunt force trauma from alligator killed missing 12-year-old in New Orleans, coroner confirms


Bryan Vasquez, a 12-year-old autistic boy whose body was recovered Tuesday morning following a weekslong search, died of blunt force trauma from an alligator and drowning, the Orleans Parish Coroner's Office said Wednesday.

New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said at an afternoon press conference that the coroner believes Bryan drowned after he was attacked by an alligator, though it's unclear when he died.

Kirkpatrick said the investigation into Bryan's death is ongoing, and she encouraged the public to report any information they may have about the boy.

"We have received information, and we want you to continue to share any information, whether or not you think it is a small detail," she said. "It may not be a small detail to us."

Several other agencies are involved in the investigation, including the state Department of Child and Family Services and Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Wildlife officials have been asked to eradicate "nuisance alligators" from the body of water where Bryan was found, Kirkpatrick said, a canal that runs parallel to Sevres Street in New Orleans East.

An NOPD spokesperson confirmed Tuesday that police had issued a search warrant to Bryan's mom, 34-year-old Hilda Vasquez, and confiscated her phone. Her criminal history, including a 2014 neglect conviction, is under review.

Kirkpatrick said at the press conference that the warrant was issued as part of the department's effort to investigate every possible lead, and Deputy Superintendent Nicholas Gernon said no one had been arrested or charged in the case.

"This is a fact-finding mission, and the police department will go wherever the facts lead us to go," Gernon said.

Bryan was reported missing on Aug. 14 after he snuck out of a window of his Beaucaire Street home, officials said. His disappearance triggered a multi-agency search effort that ended Tuesday when his body resurfaced and was discovered by a United Cajun Navy volunteer's drone.

The NOPD had come under fire for its delayed response to the boy's disappearance in recent weeks as the search dragged on, and Kirkpatrick said Tuesday the department also has launched an internal investigation.

NOPD logs show that nearly five hours lapsed between the time Bryan was reported missing and when an officer arrived on scene, a lapse that Kirkpatrick called "inordinate."

"We own the issue of the delay," she said.

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