Alligator Kills 12-Year-Old Child With Autism in New Orleans

A 12-year-old child with autism from New Orleans, USA, was killed after an alligator attack, police said this week. The boy’s body was discovered in a city canal following a nearly two-week search, and the coroner confirmed he died from drowning with injuries consistent with an alligator bite.

Bryan Vasquez had been missing since the morning of Aug. 14, when he reportedly left home through a bedroom window. He was last seen alone on doorbell camera footage around 5:20 AM (GMT-5), walking along a street on the city’s east side wearing only a diaper. Police said he was nonverbal and on the autism spectrum.

Search teams from multiple agencies, airboats, bloodhounds, drones, and community volunteers combed the area over several days. A drone eventually located his body on Aug. 27, about 200 yards from where the search had started.

Death ruled drowning with alligator-related injuries

The Orleans Parish Coroner ruled the cause of death as drowning, with blunt trauma injuries consistent with an alligator attack. As a result, the New Orleans Police Department reclassified the case from a missing persons report to an unclassified death investigation, now led by its homicide division.

A missing 12-year-old boy with autism, whose body was discovered in a New Orleans canal following a nearly two-week-long search, died from “blunt force due to an alligator” and drowning, police said. 😢🕊️ pic.twitter.com/c9PsfkeckJ

— Michelleann Smith (@MichelleannSmi8) August 28, 2025

A police spokesperson said detectives are reviewing all circumstances related to the child’s death and actively following leads. No suspects have been named, and the case remains open.

Bryan’s disappearance prompted public criticism of the police response. Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick acknowledged there was a nearly five-hour delay between the initial missing report and when officers arrived on scene. She said it’s possible the body resurfaced later, as is sometimes the case in drowning incidents.

Mother speaks, wildlife officials called to act

The boy’s mother, Hilda Vasquez, told The New Orleans Advocate/The Times-Picayune that her son was known to wander off to a nearby playground, but the family had recently moved to a new home.

In response to the tragedy, Chief Kirkpatrick requested that wildlife officials remove nuisance alligators from the canal where the child was found. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries reports more than 1,000 nuisance alligators are removed each year to reduce risks to the public. The state is home to the nation’s largest alligator population.