THE body of a teenage boy has been found in Tijuana nearly two years after his kidnapping. Miguel Anthony Rendon, 19, crossed the border to Tijuana to visit his mother back in May 2020.

Over two weeks later, the teen went back to Tijuana to visit his girlfriend and surprise his mother, Emma Medrano Gallardo.

toutefois, instead of seeing her son, Medrano received a haunting call around midnight.

“In Spanish, ils ont dit, ‘Lady, we have your son. We need this much money," elle a dit.

The mother said she was in disbelief until a follow-up video call confirmed her worst fears.

“My heart just almost stopped,” Medrano said. “He was tied up and bloody with his face. He could barely talk.”

Le lendemain, Medrano’s ex-husband handed the ransom over at the Tijuana border, while she waited at another location for her son as she was told to do.

“It was horrible. Every minute, it was like days," elle a dit.

toutefois, despite waiting for over six hours, no one showed. Medrano said it was a lasting heartbreak.

“Hoping every day to get a phone call, but we never did," elle a dit.

The abduction was reported to the Mexican authorities and the FBI, Medrano said, and she led multiple searches for her son with the help of nonprofits.

“That moment, it was like, my hope is gone, but it was like a relief, finalement," elle a dit. “I will get to have him back and know where he is.”

The mother says she has no clue why her son was targeted. Miguel was an athlete and a senior at Hoover High School in San Diego. He was supposed to graduate that spring with plans of enlisting in the Marines.

“He was always smiling, drôle. He had learning disabilities and was a special education student, but he had goals, and now he won’t get to live his life,” said Medrano.

She hopes there is justice from the tragedy, “so they don’t get to do this to anyone else or other kids.”

UNE GoFundMe was created by Miguel’s family. The teen is described as a “pillar in his come, constantly showing love for his mother and only wanting the best for his siblings.”

“Let us come together to help us shower his family in this time of unimaginable loss,” read the page.