Authorities have released some encouraging updates in the search for 10-year-old Ian Aguilar.
"It is planned that Ian will be united with a stateside family member very soon and will get to return home," said Jennifer Coffindaffer, a retired FBI agent and child advocate.
"Although he will not have a mother, he will have others who love him," she said.
Police are still looking for Ian Aguilar, 10, and his murder-suspect father, Juan Aguilar-Cano, after the child’s sister found their mother, Zuleika Lopez, dead at home. (Images: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)
The boy is believed to be in Mexico with family members, safe from his abductor, Juan Aguilar-Cano.
While police are still working to bring Ian home, the search has intensified for his father, Aguilar-Cano, who is accused of murdering Zuleika Lopez-Arzate, Ian's mother.
The deceased woman's body was discovered by her daughter in their home on Tuesday night, prompting the AMBER alert for her son.
"We appreciate the support of every citizen who vigilantly joined the search for Ian last week" said Mikol Skaggs, a Deputy Sheriff who helped coordinate AMBER alert search efforts across Texas.
Hundreds of community watch members helped search for Ian using US.Watch, a web-based platform developed by law enforcement to coordinate the public search for abducted kids.
A breakthrough in the case came when Aguilar-Cano's abandoned vehicle, a tan 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe with Texas license plate KVZ1194, was found at a Tornado Bus Company in Houston, a service that connects to Mexico.Details regarding which relative is currently with Ian, what city he is in, and how the child ended up in Mexico have not been disclosed.
If the boy is not returned to America soon, citizen search efforts on US.Watch may extend into Mexico.
Members of US.Watch receive enhanced local AMBER alerts that include a video brief, an individually-assigned watch zone, and a link to join the search on the US.Watch platform.
From there, users can navigate to their designated areas, connect with law enforcement, collaborate with other citizen searchers, and even win rewards for helping—all while tuning in to a live broadcast to stay up to date with the latest alert information, including search instructions, the current top searchers, and the most interesting user messages from the group chat.
The platform’s smart zone assignment algorithm leverages nearly two decades of AMBER alert data from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to target citizen search efforts to locations where abducted children are most likely to be found.
Users who navigate to their assigned watch zones can win rewards, such as a $100 gift card.
US.Watch was coded to honor the memory of Hailey Owens, whose life could have been saved by a more timely and effective AMBER alert system in 2014.
After her death, Hailey's friends, family, and law enforcement officials advocated for the passage of HAILEY'S Law, which was signed by Missouri Governor Mike Parson in 2019.
The law streamlines the process for issuing AMBER alerts and empowers law enforcement officers to include a link to resources like US.Watch with each alert.
To receive enhanced AMBER alerts, assist in local search efforts, and win rewards, sign up at https://US.Watch, or join by texting or calling (803) US-Watch