Yahoo Finance Body of Boy, 13, Who Died from Dehydration in Texas Migrant Truck Tragedy Returned to Guatemala
A Guatemalan victim of the June 27 migrant truck tragedy in San Antonio, Texas, has been returned to his home country.
Received by his family at the Guatemala City airport around midday on Friday, 13-year-old Pascual Melvin Guachiac Sipac was the first of many victims to be repatriated, the Sacramento Bee reported. Guachiac Sipac died of dehydration.
His cousin, Juan Wilmer Tulul Tepaz, also died in the tragedy and is expected to return to Guatemala on Saturday, per the outlet.
Tulul Tepaz and Guachiac Sipac were originally from Tzucubal, a farming community of about 1,500 people, which is located in the mountains nearly 100 miles northwest of the nation's capital.
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In June, Guachiac Sipac's mother, Maria Sipac Coj, spoke to the New York Post about how she found out about her son's passing. Two days after the discovery of the 18-wheeler, Sipac Coj received a call from a member of the country's congress saying that her son was among the victims.
Sipac Coj revealed her son had left 15 days earlier to live with his father in Houston. "He was so excited to be with his father again," she told the outlet in tears.
Per The Washington Post, Sipac Coj saved the last message he sent her on her phone: "Mom, today they are taking me in a trailer."
Among the 53 victims of the tragedy, 21 were from Guatemala, Fox 29 reported.
Eric Gay/AP/Shutterstock Police block the scene where a truck with multiple dead bodies was discovered in San Antonio, Texas
After the incident late last month, and the discovery of the 18-wheeler, San Antonio police shared more details about the "horrific tragedy."
Chief William P. McManus said in a live press conference via Facebook that police received the first call at 5:50 p.m. local time. An employee who worked at a nearby building "heard a cry for help" and "came out to investigate." Upon approaching the truck, he saw the door was "partially open" and soon found the 46 dead individuals inside.
Oliver de Ros/AP/Shutterstock
An additional 16 people (12 adults and four children) were rushed to nearby hospitals in varying conditions after multiple police, fire trucks and ambulances responded to the scene at the 9600 block of Quintana Road.
Two were admitted to University Hospital, and at least five were brought to Baptist Medical Center in unknown conditions, PEOPLE confirmed.
Since then, the total number of deceased had climbed to 53. Homeland Security Investigations had detained three individuals believed to be part of the alleged smuggling conspiracy, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson previously told PEOPLE.
Eric Gay/AP/Shutterstock Police block the scene where a truck with multiple dead bodies was discovered in San Antonio, Texas
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Two days after the incident, two men were charged in connection with the deaths.
According to court documents obtained by CNN, Juan Claudio D'Luna-Mendez and Juan Francisco D'Luna-Bilbao are charged federally with being in "possession of a weapon by an alien illegally in the United States."
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"D'Luna-Bilbao admitted to possession of the Tanfoglio handgun in the F-250 and the Mossberg shotgun in his bedroom," the document states, according to a tweet from CBS News' Rob Legare, alleging that D'Luna-Bilbao "also admitted to his immigration status in the United States as a Visa overstay."
Aside from admitting "to possession of the three firearms in his bedroom," D'Luna-Mendez "also admitted to his immigration status in the United States as a Visa overstay," according to the court document Legare shared.
It was not immediately clear whether the two men were among the three individuals previously taken into custody.
