New Orleans mourns Bryan Vasquez, celebrating his short yet impactful life and thanking supporters of his family.
NEW ORLEANS — The City of New Orleans announced it is mourning the death of Bryan Vasquez, calling him a beloved child whose “life, though far too short, left a lasting impression on all who knew him.”
The body is being recovered, but the New Orleans Police Department is waiting for the city coroner to officially identify the body as Vasquez.
NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said police, with the help of the Cajun Navy, discovered the body in a lagoon near the boy’s home. Search crews drained a portion of the lagoon as NOPD drones were deployed, said Kirkpatrick.
Kirkpatrick also said the investigation is ongoing, including any possibility of ‘foul play’.
United Cajun Navy President Todd Terrell said the boy’s body was discovered in the water after search dogs from five different state agencies and drones flying overhead indicated something in the water Tuesday morning.
“Some of the most sophisticated stuff that you can have, so we knew we was (sic) in the right area. Um, unfortunately, the ground is real soft. There’s a lot of old decaying hydria on the bottom that’s 3 or 4 ft deep, so we was (sic) up against some odds, but we knew that the dogs were keeping us in this spot. So as long as the dogs were hitting separately from each other in five different states, we knew it was in the right area,” said Terrell.
“It was a nonstop effort, you know, we also use this as a training mission,” he added. “A lot of people are trained in closed conditions. uh, this was real life, this was real time, you know, you had crowd control, you had social media involved in it, you know, you had um animals, you had alligators, you had grass, you had, um, just a lot of vegetation to deal with, um. So we knew it was in the right area, and so we used it every day as a training mission and also as a way to test our other dogs from different states. We had the best of the best dogs out here.”
Bryan is nonverbal and was last spotted in the Michoud area. He suffers from a neurodevelopmental condition, and does not understand English or Spanish, his family described him.
In a statement, the city described Bryan as “a bright, charismatic, and energetic young boy whose joy and spirit touched the lives of his family, friends, and community.”
The city also expressed gratitude to the New Orleans Police Department, the Cajun Navy, and all agencies and volunteers who supported the Vasquez family.
“Bryan’s memory will forever remain in the hearts of those who loved him, and his light will continue to shine as a reminder of resilience, innocence, and love,” the statement said.
The city closed its message with, “May he rest in God’s eternal peace.”
Full statement from the City of New Orleans here:
The City of New Orleans is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Bryan Vasquez, a beloved child whose life, though far too short, left a lasting impression on all who knew him. Bryan was a bright, charismatic, and energetic young boy whose joy and spirit touched the lives of his family, friends, and community.
The City also extends its gratitude to the New Orleans Police Department, the Cajun Navy, and all agencies and volunteers who came together to support the Vasquez family during this difficult time.
Bryan’s memory will forever remain in the hearts of those who loved him, and his light will continue to shine as a reminder of resilience, innocence, and love.
May he rest in God’s eternal peace.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.