Family identifies remains of missing US boy found in Juarez

Authorities confirmed the body of a missing U.S. boy was found in Ciudad Juárez after weeks of searching.

Chihuahua State investigators revealed in a news conference Wednesday that James Martin Camacho Padilla died of hypothermia. His body had no signs of violence. His family identified his remains.

“There is no doubt in the mind of the biological father,” Jorge Arnaldo Nava Lopez said.

The 7-year-old boy went missing in late January from his grandmother’s house in Juárez. His mother said the boy suffered from autism. At the time of the boy’s disappearance, Mexican media reported the boy’s family relocated to Juárez from Washington State after the boy’s father was deported.

Nava Lopez said the biological mother, who lives in the U.S., has been notified through the Consulate.

“We believe she is within hours of arriving here. We would then follow procedure and turn over the remains (to the family),” he said.

The owner of the cotton field found the body Tuesday around 2 p.m in the Riberas Del Bravo neighborhood, the same area where the boy vanished.

The autopsy revealed the boy died 10 days ago. Investigators say the case remains open as they want to find out where the boy was for 20 days.

His family, Mexican authorities and the Juárez community came together to search for the boy while he was missing. El Diario reported that people said they had searched that same cotton field before and didn’t find anything at the time.

The boy’s body didn’t spend a long time in the cotton field, according to Juárez officials. He didn’t show signs of decomposition as if he had spend time outdoors.

Nava Lopez has been in the agency for 16 years and he’d never seen a case like this one.

“He could’ve been with another person, he could’ve sought shelter on his own. Those are the two main hypotheses, but we can’t rule anything out,” he said.