CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico: 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.
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