PICO RIVERA, Calif. — A devastated family in Southern California is grieving the loss of their teenage daughter whom they believe was taken and then left at a hospital.
The Los Angeles Police Department is not calling the death of 15-year-old Mercedes Vasquez a homicide.
“I know things are not going to be the same because I don’t have my baby with me,” Mercedes’ mother, Yadid Vasquez, said fighting back tears.
Following her disappearance for almost a week, the mother stated that the presumed abductor eventually brought her daughter to the hospital as she fell ill. Tragically, the young girl, Mercedes, passed away.
“Justice will come for him,” Vasquez said about the alleged kidnapper.
Vasquez says her daughter was depressed after recently being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
“I know she took it pretty hard,” Vasquez told Eyewitness News. “I tried to comfort her, like ‘you’re a normal kid.'”
To cope with the illness, Mercedes turned to video games where she met a 19-year-old online, which Vasquez says is referenced in the police report.
It all happened two weeks ago. Vasquez says she went to pick up Mercedes from El Rancho High in Pico Rivera, but there was no sign of the teen.
Vasquez alerted a nearby deputy, and her family searched around the neighborhood for hours.
“We waited until 8, 9 o’clock in the night. No response,” Vasquez said.
The day after these events unfolded, the mother mentioned that a deputy examined surveillance footage and identified a scene showing her daughter accompanied by the suspected abductor. The footage captured the alleged escape vehicle, a Toyota sedan.
“Since she got in the car willingly they don’t consider her kidnapped. It’s more like a runaway,” Vasquez said.
Several days passed before a bizarre twist.
Mercedes’ grandmother received text messages from the alleged kidnapper from her daughter’s phone. The person stated he was a friend and was taking Mercedes to the hospital. Another text claimed they were a couple, and went on to say that he didn’t touch her and she ran away for a reason.
Vasquez rushed to the hospital in Inglewood.
“I was happy, at the same time sad,” Vasquez said. “I was not upset. I was not angry. I just wanted to see her.”
“She was breathing so heavy. My heart broke,” Vasquez added.
She says Mercedes was in a diabetic coma. Vasquez says police detained the man who allegedly took her daughter.
But Vasquez said LAPD told her that “they couldn’t do anything” because there wasn’t enough evidence of a kidnapping.
“She’s barely a kid. She’s a baby. She’s 15 years old. Look how he brought her,” Vasquez said.
She said her daughter’s death is a cautionary tale.
“Keep an eye on your kids,” she said. “Keep an eye on who they talk to, who they meet up, what information they give out.”
The family says LAPD is now investigating the cause of her death.
This weekend, the family is hosting a car wash to raise money for Mercedes’ funeral next month. A GoFundMe page has also been set up.
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