BFF-04 Mexico investigates death of autistic American boy on border

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BFF-04

MEXICO-US-CHILD-INVESTIGATION

Mexico investigates death of autistic American boy on border

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico, Feb 22, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Mexican authorities said
Wednesday they are investigating the death of a seven-year-old autistic
American boy after his body was discovered in a cotton field close to the US-
Mexico border.

The remains of James Martin Camacho Padilla were found by laborers in the
field located just one kilometer (half a mile) from the border, and five
kilometers from his grandmother’s home from which he went missing January 21.

An intense search for him had been carried out for a month.

“There are no signs of violence, but the investigation into his
disappearance remains open given that the area he was found in had been
searched by officers,” the prosecutor for the northern part of Chihuahua
state, Jorge Nava, told reporters.

His father identified the body. An autopsy suggested the boy had died 10
days earlier from hypothermia, and he had gone at least seven days without
eating.

The US consulate in the state’s biggest city of Ciudad Juarez said it had
contacted the boy’s mother, who lives in the US state of Washington where
Camacho Padillo was born. She was expected to travel to Mexico.

Camacho Padillo disappeared two days after arriving in Ciudad Juarez with
his father, where he had moved with his mother’s assent. His relatives said
he slipped out of the house without them noticing.

Hundreds of Mexican police, firemen and volunteers had taken part in the
air, sea and ground search for the boy. Local authorities had offered a
$10,000 reward and coordinated the search with US officials.

BSS/AFP/MSY/0838 hrs