Remains Found at San Diego Beach Identified as Belonging to 10-Year-Old Girl Who Went Missing When Boat Capsized Off the Coast
Remains recently found on a San Diego beach have been identified by officials as belonging to 10-year-old Mahi Brijeshkumar Patel
The preteen went missing when a boat carrying her family and several others overturned off the coast earlier this month
Patel died in the accident two days before her birthdayRemains found on a San Diego beach have been identified by officials as belonging to 10-year-old Mahi Brijeshkumar Patel, who went missing when a boat carrying her family and several others overturned off the coast of San Diego earlier this month.
On May 21, a passerby at Torrey Pines State Beach found the remains and contacted authorities, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.
Now, officials revealed that the body parts were those of Mahi. "Her parents were notified of DNA testing confirming that the remains belonged to the decedent," the Medical Examiner's Office said.
The identification came over two weeks after a panga boat carrying Mahi and her family overturned on May 5 — just two days after the preteen's birthday. Mahi was initially "reported missing from the boat at that time and could not be found," per the Medical Examiner's Office.
California State Parks is continuing to investigate the girl's death. Her official cause and manner of death are pending, the Medical Examiner's Office said.
According to The Los Angeles Times, four people died and multiple others were missing after the boat overturned.
Authorities were notified that the boat capsized near Torrey Pines State Beach in San Diego at around 6:30 a.m. local time, a Coast Guard official told CBS News at the time.
NBC News reported that authorities believed the people onboard the panga were migrants.
Mahi's 14-year-old brother Prince Brijeshkumar Patel's cause of death was determined to be accidental drowning, according to the Medical Examiner's Office.
Marcos Lozada-Juarez, 18, was identified as another victim who was traveling on the small fishing boat, the office added. His cause of death was also accidental drowning.
Authorities searched 520 square nautical miles for the missing girl for eight hours before suspending search operations and presuming her dead, per SFGATE.
KFMB previously reported that there was rain when the boat capsized, and the waves were rocky and harsh. Officials later discovered towels, life vests and shoes in the boat.
The family was from India, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of California. The children's father was in a coma following the boat capsizing, while their mother was also hospitalized.
The office announced on May 6 that Julio Cesar Zuniga Luna and Jesus Juan Rodriguez Leyva were charged with "bringing in aliens resulting in death" and "bringing in aliens for financial gain."
Border patrol agents later located a vehicle in Chula Vista that was "observed at the scene" on May 5, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The driver fled, while agents "identified two other vehicles that were involved in the smuggling event." They then charged three people — Melissa Jenelle Cota, Gustavo Lara and Sergio Rojas-Fregosa — with "transportation of illegal aliens," per the office.
'Human smuggling, regardless of the route, is not only illegal but extremely dangerous. Smugglers often treat people as disposable commodities, leading to tragic and sometimes deadly consequences, as we saw in this case,' special agent Shawn Gibson of HSI San Diego said in a statement at the time.
'Yesterday's heartbreaking events are a stark reminder of the urgent need to dismantle these criminal networks driven by greed. The HSI, along with the U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard, and other partners from the Marine Task Force, remains firmly committed to holding those responsible accountable for these senseless deaths," he added.
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