New Orleans authorities discovered human remains inside an alligator they believe belonged to 12-year-old Bryan Vasquez, who died in an August attack after disappearing from his home.
The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office described the remains found inside the alligator as “child like,” WDSU News reported. Wildlife officers trapped the alligator on Sevres Street in the same lagoon where volunteers found Vasquez’s body following a nearly two-week search.
Authorities transported the alligator to Lacombe, where they dissected it and discovered the remains. A lab in Baton Rouge will determine whether the remains belong to Vasquez, officials said.
The nonverbal 12-year-old boy went missing Aug. 14 after he left through his bedroom window at 5 a.m., according to reports. Volunteers found his body in the lagoon near his home almost two weeks later. The coroner determined he died from “blunt trauma consistent with an alligator attack and drowning,” ABC News reported. (RELATED: ‘He’s Bleeding Everywhere’: Alligator Attacks Man Gardening At His Home, Wife Takes Tomato Stake To Beast’s Eyes)
The mother of a 12-year-old New Orleans boy who was killed in an alligator attack is facing charges in connection with his neglect-filled life and his death. Bryan Vasquez had gone missing on Aug. 14 and was found dead in a lagoon near the house where he… https://t.co/1eM0OCBknO pic.twitter.com/qIT6C3NuoP
— The Western Journal (@WesternJournalX) September 14, 2025
Police arrested the boy’s mother, Hilda Vasquez, following his death. She faces child abuse charges, with authorities citing a “pattern of both negligence and abuse over Bryan’s 12 years,” according to Deputy Superintendent Nicholas Gernon.
Court records show Vasquez previously received a conviction for abusing Bryan when he was three months old. The infant allegedly suffered a skull fracture, broken legs and a collapsed lung, ABC News reported. The Louisiana Department of Children & Family Services removed the child from the home but later returned him, Gernon stated.
The New Orleans Police Department launched an internal investigation into a five-hour delay in their initial response to the 911 call reporting Bryan’s disappearance, according to the outlet. Police also requested wildlife officials remove alligators from the body of water where they found the boy.