Shocking Cause of Death Revealed for Missing 12-Year-Old Boy

So I have said that when we became aware. there was a fiveh hour delay then I. immediately we immediately but as the. chief of police I immediately requested. that our internal affairs PIB unit open. a formal investigation from the fact. alone there was a delay and I cannot. tell you the why behind that yet. After. an apparent 5-hour delay in responding. to a missing child report, New Orleans.

authorities launched a massive search. for 12-year-old Brian Vasquez, a. nonverbal neurode divergent boy who. disappeared from his home. And now with. the coroner's findings released, the. investigation has taken a heartbreaking. turn and we are going to break down what. happened and what investigators are. facing with a retired police sergeant. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and. Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. Let me tell you about a case that has. gripped New Orleans over the past couple.

of weeks. Began as a missing child alert. for 12-year-old Brian Vasquez. A boy who. was nonverbal, neurode divergent, specially vulnerable, disappeared on the. morning of August 14th after he. reportedly climbed out of a window in. his house. And what followed was a 12day. intensive search. drones, helicopters, cadaavver dogs, even the volunteer group. known as the United Cinjun Navy got. involved. But what happened, the.

outcome, it wasn't what anyone hoped. for. And maybe it wasn't even what. anyone could have expected. Because. sadly, the newest update is. heartbreaking and it is shocking and it. changes the way this entire. investigation is being looked at. Questions have come up about why it took. apparently 5 hours for NOPD to even. begin responding after this boy was. reported missing. Questions about why. the family's phones were seized under a. search warrant and whether investigators.

were appropriate in maybe looking at. this family as they're now grieving. And. now with the coroner's findings in hand, police have revealed a grim truth about. how Brian died. and it is one that has. sparked both outrage and sadness and has. left many wondering if this tragedy. could have been prevented. Now, before. we get to that, I want to start at the. beginning. On the morning of August. 14th, 2025, 12-year-old Brian Vasquez. disappeared, disappeared from his home. on Boure Street in New Orleans. Brian.

was neurodeivergent, nonverbal, didn't. understand English or Spanish. His. family told police that he was last seen. wearing an adult diaper, believed to be. wandering around on foot. And it turns. out, by the way, he was last seen. captured on a neighbor's doorbell. footage wearing only a diaper, wandering. around the street alone. By the next. day, in the early hours of August 15th, Louisiana State Police issued a level. two endangered missing child advisory.

So that meant that the state believed. that Brian's life was in danger, but. that the case didn't qualify under Amber. Alert criteria because investigators. couldn't confirm there was an actual. abduction taking place. But at 12 years. old, 5'1, about 90 lb, Brian's. disappearance sent waves of concern. throughout the community. Families, neighbors, volunteers, they began. searching alongside authorities. But. right from the start, there was. controversy. Police actually admitted.

that there had been a fivehour delay. between when Brian's family reported him. missing and when the New Orleans Police. Department began actively searching. At. a press conference, NOPD Superintendent. Anne Kirkpatre faced some pretty tough. questions about that delay and other. aspects of the investigation. We're. going to break down in just a moment. what she had to say and what that. presser looked like. But for nearly two. weeks, search teams combed through the. Misho area in New Orleans. The United.

Cinjun Navy deployed sonar drones, five. cadaavver dogs from out of state. They. alerted to a specific lagoon near. Brian's home. And then on August 26th, there was a grim and heartbreaking. moment in the case. An update. Brian's. body was found in that very lagoon. It's. only about 200 yards from where. investigators believe he first went. missing or entered that lagoon. And when. authorities first recovered Brian's. body, Superintendent Kirk Patrick faced.

a barrage of tough questions from the. press. Why was there a 5-hour delay. between the time Brian was reported. missing and when officers began. searching? Did a language barrier play a. role? Had the police maybe given up too. quickly? Well, Kirk Patrick answered. each question headon, starting with the. delay. So I have said that when we. became aware there was a five-hour delay. then I immediately we immediately but as. the chief of police I immediately.

requested that our internal affairs PIB. unit open a formal investigation. which is why we will go back and ask all. the players at hand the sergeant the. lieutenant the officers the dispatch. everybody. what happened. And that's what I mean by. taking facts and putting them into. context to get to an answer. We want all. of our community to be able to call us.

with confidence that we will serve you. well. In this particular case, from the. fact alone, there was a delay. And I. cannot tell you the why behind that yet. And Kirkpatre confirmed that IIA, internal affairs, is investigating what. happened during that critical window. But there were questions that arose. about whether law enforcement maybe also. relied too heavily on volunteers, especially United Cinjun Navy, who. ultimately played a central role in this.

search. Here's what she had to say. >> The Cinjun Navy, as you know, are. incredible uh volunteers, but they also. through their years have developed an. expertise in search and rescue. So, we. also had the LSP out there. We had a lot. of different agencies with dogs and we. tried to do the search and rescue, but. we also are doing an investigation. And so, I thank the Cinjun Navy. I thank. the state police who brought. helicopters, who brought drones, we.

brought our own drones and so forth. But. that is the the fact of the matter as. well that in partnership we all kind of. lean toward our expertise. and search and and search and rescue. many times. are uh more of an expertise of different. units. In this case, we're fortunate in. the state of Louisiana to have. volunteers, the Kinjun Navy, who also. have some um instrumentality that we.

don't always have. They had sonar. So, I. understand it sonar drone. Uh our drones. are not sonar. >> And the press also focused on whether. language barriers could have contributed. to this delay as well. While Kurpatre. didn't rule it out, emphasized that the. investigation is going to examine all. factors that may have been at play here. And when it came to Brian himself, she. revealed he had a history of wandering. off, but also seemed to hint at concerns. surrounding the family, too. Let me.

speak to the fact that I know of two of. well I know of one other event in which. Brian within the last month had uh left. home and was discovered uh unaccompanied. and so we do know that and so uh. wandering would not be unusual either. for a a special needs child. However, um. you know how many times in the history. that we will be looking at is there more.

than uh a few incidences and so history. matters. And then Chris, you asked me. specifically what was your second. question? >> If the mother has faced any previous. allegations or has been under. investigation before, >> the answer is yes. >> Now, she didn't elaborate any further on. that. And by the end of that first. briefing, the NOPD labeled Brian's case. an unclassified death investigation, meaning they weren't yet calling it a.

homicide, but they weren't ruling. anything out either. And then just one. day later, August 27th, Superintendent. Kirk Patrick stood before cameras once. again with the Orleans Parish Coroner's. findings. So, we're going to get into. all that, but first, to help me break. down what we've heard so far, I want to. bring on a special guest. I want to. bring on retired police sergeant uh Troy. Hillman. Troy, thank you so much for. coming on. I want to take this piece by. piece. First of all, what are the. initial steps that an investigator takes. when a missing child report comes in?

How critical are those first few hours? >> It actually comes down to to to minutes. Um on those kind of calls, um they there. really should be a what we would call. and where I my jurisdiction was a. priority one, which is kind of an. emergency call. Um and and it all. depends on the circumstances, but in. this particular case, you had a disabled. child um that was non-verbal uh that you. know had just been missing at that point. for a while. So it's just a bad.

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by clicking the link below or scanning. the QR code on screen. Let's let's break that down for a. second. Why is it such a concern? What. are the possible consequences of a. purported 5-hour delay in responding to. a missing child report, if it's true, and what could be a benign explanation. for why that would have happened? >> Um, I I think it really every month that. goes by is a potential for that child to.

be abducted, um, to be to run into. traffic, uh, to go in into a lagoon, um, things like that. So I think time is of. the essence. Um but I also it's. counterbalanced with the fact that um. most agencies are short staffed. Uh the. the police, you know, have have not been. able to keep up with uh retirements. So. you have a staffing issue. So I don't. know all the details as to why um this. was not uh basically treated as an.

emergency call or why the delay. Um, but. to me, uh, you know, there was almost. definitive gap and some holes in that. >> You mentioned this before. The truth is. Brian is a was a vulnerable individual. and a different kind of individual. Um, in terms of a missing person's report, right? So, if you are encountered with a. situation where you're looking for. someone like Brian, what are the. specific methods, the specific tools. that you might have deployed that are a.

bit different than a different than a a. missing person case involving someone. else? >> I think you need to look at uh history. as to where um it sounded like he had uh. left the the home before. There had been. some incidents uh to figure out where he. went then. Uh he may have retraced his. steps. um and then try to get the. community involved as quick as possible. to be looking for this this child uh via. the media, whatnot. >> And one of the things about missing. person's cases is law enforcement, they.

rely on the public. The public can help. in so many different ways. People. online, volunteer groups, if you see. something, report it, extra manpower, it's great. Having said that, when you. have a case, let's say for example, with. the cinjun navy, when they're involved, um, from a law enforce from a law. enforcement perspective, how do. professionals balance volunteer. involvement with formal investigative. procedures? Are there risks in relying. on volunteer groups? Even if they have a.

specialization, even if they have a a. professional aspect to it, is there a. risk? Is there a benefit? How do you. balance it? And typically those uh. volunteer organizations have uh maybe. people at the top that have been prior. law enforcement or been heavily involved. and experienced. Um so they you know I. can't speak to the exact training. Um. but it appeared that you know we we need. as much all hands on deck. We need law. enforcement needs help. Um so um.

something's better than nothing. Um but. yeah there there could be stuff that. gets missed. We're all human. um we. don't know what was relayed um from the. uh the person who made the call to the. person taking the call. There's a lot of. uh unknowns here in this this investig. overall overarching investigation. >> But it helps it helps to have volunteer. groups. They can maybe add something or. provide something that law enforcement. may not have. Sure, law enforcement, right, has to corroborate it. They have. to make sure the the information is.

accurate. But you can have volunteer. groups that maybe aid law enforcement in. a way law enforcement can't do. themselves, right? You talked about. understaffing. >> Absolutely. We had we had reserve. officers um people maybe uh wanted to. get involved with the police department. but own their own business or or whatnot. and just wanted to help. Uh but they. would go through um an academy uh much. like the traditional police officer. academy. Um and then they would serve so. many hours. So there was there are. opportunities for volunteers. Um and and.

a lot of people getting into it uh their. background checked um so you know. they're typically uh safe um and again. they agencies need help uh dramatically. understaffed. >> Before I get into what law enforcement. say happened to Brian and we'll get into. that in a second because that was a. shocking revelation. Before we get into. that, generally speaking, how do. investigators determine when a death is. quote unclassified, right, versus a.

homicide or accident? What does that. mean? And what factors influence that. decision? And then we'll get into what. they say happened to Brian. Well, I. think the initial investigation when. officers andor detectives arrive and. then later on we had it, the medical. examiner would arrive, you'd pretty much. know uh visually um or by witness. statement, surveillance video, what was. at the scene kind of kind of what. happened. Um so there's this another. classification and I believe they call.

it unclassified death or what we call. death unknown. um which kind of until. we're able to get it in the hands of a. medical examiner to say for sure if. there's no there's no outward trauma uh. to this in this case this child um then. you have to look towards science and you. have to look towards the medical. examiner uh coroner to basically. determine how what injuries caused this. individual's death. >> and let's talk about it. Okay, let's go. to the coroner's findings. August 27th, Superintendent Kirkpatrick revealed the.

coroner's findings, and these words were. very difficult to hear, and they were. incredibly heavy. >> The coroner has determined that. 12-year-old Brian Bazquez. died from blunt force due to an. alligator. and then subsequently drowned. We know that these are difficult uh. outcomes and we still have quite uh a.

grieving community and a grieving. family. This investigation does. continue. However, this afternoon I did formally. request that the Department of Wildlife. and Fisheries eradicate nuisance. alligators. That will begin this afternoon. And so we want the community in the. Mishu neighborhood to be aware that we. will have hunters in that body of water.

eradicating these nuisance alligators. We will have an NOPD presence. uh just to make sure that people. understood what was going on. I want to thank our special victims. division and you know chief Gernon to my. right is the uh chief over. investigations. as well as the chief to my left shoulder. the chief over field operations.

This is a continuing investigation. It is not over. So, wildlife fisheries, they have already begun removing what. Kirk Patrick called nuisance alligators. from the lagoon. But alongside grief, there are so many unanswered questions. in this case. When exactly did Brian. die? Well, according to Kirk Patrick, the coroner couldn't determine whether. this attack occurred the same day that. he went missing, August 14th. Why the. delay? Well, this was brought up again.

Kirk Patrick called the 5-hour gap. inordinate and admitted it may have cost. precious time. What about DCFS? Right. Department of Children and Family. Services. The department has opened its. own investigation. There are no details. that have been released at this time. So. Troy, let's talk about it. My gosh, shocking conclusion here about an. alligator attack. Let's start right. there. What do you make of that? >> It's horrific. Um we unfortunately.

live in amongst nature and um some some. things tragic uh happen um and it you. know possibly the child walked too close. and then that that's where he was. attacked and then there's so many. variables to whether or not and I'm not. an expert as to how how far an alligator. would uh typically bite somebody and. take them in into waters and then. release. Uh so there's so many issues. that uh people with ex experts can. basically begin to unravel and figure. out kind of that that timeline and I.

think that's that's important. Um but. yeah there there's just a lot that goes. into this breaking it apart and saying. okay what could we have done better as. as law enforcement? What could we have. done better as a community? And kind of. isolate on that. Uh and then keep in. mind that the family is is grieving and. going through a really rough time. Um. but in missing person cases typically. you do there was some uh backlash on. whether or not the agency should you. know look at the family. Um.

unfortunately you have to look at every. angle in an objective manner on these. type of things especially with children. to to look at who potentially could have. been involved knowing what you know at. the moment. Uh this is something that I. mentioned before. Authorities they. issued a search warrant on the cell. phones that they say belong to this. family, to Brian's family. And the. family told uh WWLTV. they felt they were being harassed. Police say it's standard practice. though. I mean, you do have to get. approval from a judge, right? You have. to get a warrant. Um how should we be.

thinking about this? Is it standard. practice? Was it wrong in this case? And. again, right, you need to have enough. evidence to have a judge to sign off on. this. Well, I've always gone just in my. personal life and kind of what I saw. during my career is if if you have. nothing to hide um than just turn. everything over in full, you know, full. disclosure and help the agency. investigate. Um and yes, a judge would. have to sign off on that. So, there. would there would be a burden of proof. for the agency to go and say, "We need.

uh this person's cell phone and here's. why." They would have to put that in an. affidavit uh and a judge. So, there are. checks and balances. Um so uh in this. kind of situation you've got a. vulnerable missing child um you're. you're just looking at everything and uh. unfortunately uh we've had some. situations where parents have hurt their. children. Um so as a society agencies. have to look at everything and that. includes the the parents and the family. and it is hurt. It's kind of that it's.

awful because it it hurts them and. they're going through grieving, but at. the same time, it's just it is standard. practice. >> And to be clear, there's been no. arrests, there's been no charges, the. NOPD continues to classify Brian's death. as this unclassified uh death, and we. still don't have a lot of answers. Right. So, the idea that the coroner. can't at this point in time uh determine. the exact time of death, could that. change? Is that unusual? What should we. be taking away from that?

>> I know from my experience in talking to. medical examiners corners before it is. sometimes difficult to determine the. especially when a a body is submerged in. water. Um there's a lot of factors that. go into that uh heat related kind of. things scientific. Um so that may be. something that gets maybe pushed uh. further to more experts uh maybe at a. state or federal level that could. ascertain how long. But sometimes it is. just a window of time. Um, but usually.

they can narrow it down pretty much days. I would think. >> Yeah, it's one of the chilling aspects. of it because we're trying to piece. together the final moments of his life. Um, and then you have DCFS, right? So. they have opened this investigation. alongside the police. A, how do the two. agencies coordinate without compromising. an investigation? And B, what do you. think they're looking for? Is it the. idea if Brian had gone off before, how.

was this, you know, why wasn't it. prevented from happening? I'm not really. sure. What do you think they're looking. at? Well, I think uh DCFS, if I'm. pronouncing that right, has a. responsibility to for the children and. and to protect children and um so if. there's been incidents in the past where. um Brian had escaped through, they. mentioned something about the the door. was locked and he was in there with a. sibling. Um but if if he had escaped and. you know in the middle of the night out. a window, um maybe there's a.

responsibility there to secure that. window. maybe some type of tamper. resistant or childproof lock on it uh to. make sure that he can't really escape. Um but again, things happen, so you have. to counterbalance that with um you know, kids do things in a heartbeat and. parents do the best they can. So the. parents were probably sleeping. So it's. it's tough. You have to look at it. objectively. You put together a report. Uh you share that with the investigators.

for the police department. Um, and then. that'll probably be chaperoned over to. the district or county attorney for a. ruling whether there was negligence. Um, and I know that so there's there's so. many issues, you know, when you look at. that and you look at was there. negligence on the part of the police. department for not getting an officer. out there sooner. So, um, and again, I'm. not here to point fingers. You just have. to that's all going to be sorted out by. the the different levels of probably the. prosecutors. And to be clear, we're not. even suggesting that's something that.

will be found. Um there could be no one. at fault for this. This could just be a. just tra tragic series of events that. happened here. But it is interesting. based on the reporting about whatever. internal investigation is happening with. law enforcement to talk about this. 5-hour gap, this purported 5-hour gap, why DCFS is reportedly getting involved, what they may do. Um, I will say the. city uh has since issued a statement in. remembrance of Brian and it reads in. part, "Brian was a bright, charismatic,

and energetic young boy whose joy and. spirit touched the lives of his family, friends, and community. Brian'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. And. there is a GoFundMe that has been set up. to help the family cover funeral. expenses, legal costs, and at the time. of this recording, that family has. raised $10,000 toward their goal. Pretty. unbelievable. >> Um Troy, thank you so much for taking.

the time. Uh I know this is a really. difficult case. I know we're still. trying to piece together everything that. we can. Um but, you know, appreciate. your expertise on this uh as we continue. to cover it. >> Absolutely. Happy to help and uh thank. you for having me on. >> All right, everybody. That's all we have. for you right now here on Sidebar. Thank. you so much for joining us and as. always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you. should get your podcast. I'm Jesse. Weber. I'll speak to you next time.

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