A 12-year-old autistic boy who has been missing for weeks was found dead in a New Orleans East canal Tuesday morning, city officials said.
Bryan Vasquez disappeared on Aug. 14, when he climbed out of a bedroom window at his Beaucaire Street home in the Village De L’Est neighborhood, prompting a massive search effort that involved local and state authorities and volunteers from around the world.
“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,” city officials said in a prepared statement. “Bryan was a bright, charismatic, and energetic young boy whose joy and spirit touched the lives of his family, friends and community.”
New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said at the scene Tuesday morning that a Cajun Navy drone found Bryan’s body floating in a canal a few blocks from his home. An investigation into his death is ongoing, she said.
“We have not eliminated foul play,” Kirkpatrick said.
Bryan Vasquez, 12, a nonverbal autistic boy, disappeared from his Beaucaire Street home in New Orleans’ Village De L’Est neighborhood early Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025.
Photo from NOPD
Kirkpatrick apologized to the Vasquez family and said NOPD had launched an internal investigation into its delayed response to the boy’s disappearance, which had become the center of scrutiny in recent weeks as the search dragged on.
NOPD logs show that nearly five hours lapsed between the time the missing juvenile report came in at 10:20 a.m. on Aug. 14, and the time an officer arrived on the scene at 3:06 p.m.
Police blocked Beaucaire Street leading to the Vasquez home Tuesday morning and traffic was being redirected away from the Michoud Boulevard bridge near Lourdes Street. Investigators were gathered on the bridge, which spans the body of water where Bryan was found.
Bryan was near the same body of water when he was last seen. Surveillance footage from just before 7 a.m. on Aug. 14 captured Bryan on Sevres Street, which runs parallel to the canal and where authorities also later found his discarded diaper.
Friends, neighbors and volunteers gather to pray and console each other near where 12-year-old Bryan Vasquez was found dead on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. The area was mostly wooded before the boy went missing, but trees were cleared during a massive, multi-agency search.
By CHRIS GRANGER | Staff photographer
The search for Bryan, a nonverbal boy, had become increasingly desperate within the last few days, with scores of volunteers, city agencies and law enforcement canvassing New Orleans East, deploying airboats, thermal drones and bloodhounds to aid in the hunt.
The boy’s mother, 34-year-old Hilda Vasquez, had set up a home base and vigil of sorts where neighbors and volunteers gathered under borrowed tents throughout the search.
She said in previous interviews her son would often sneak away from their last home to head to a playground nearby. Neighbors there knew him and knew to bring him home, she said, but they’d recently moved to a new house.
Awaiting any updates, family and friends gather near where searchers were looking for Bryan Vasquez, 12, a missing nonverbal boy who is on the autism spectrum, in New Orleans East on Monday, August 18, 2025. (Photo by Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune)
PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER
Slidell residents Reginald Hall, 63, and Joseph Stanley, 52, were among the many locals who had joined in the search for Bryan, wading through the area surrounding the canal every day for the last week. Hall said he couldn’t believe the boy wasn’t found earlier and had gone unnoticed by all the volunteers, drones and cameras deployed in the area.
“I really wanted to find him, hopefully he was walking somewhere,” Hall said at the scene Tuesday, where many neighbors and volunteers had gathered to mourn the boy and offer condolences. “I’m glad he’s been found so the mother could have closure, though it’s a sad closure.”
Friends, neighbors and volunteers gather to pray and console each other near where 12-year-old Bryan Vasquez was found dead on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025.
By CHRIS GRANGER | Staff photographer
Hall said he’s often in the New Orleans East neighborhood for work, and started searching on foot and by car after he saw the news about Bryan’s disappearance. Stanley too said he’s spent at least some time looking nearly every day since he first heard about Bryan.
“I have two boys of my own and could not imagine being in this situation,” Stanley said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.