Obituary: Eduardo Alvarado-Diaz

Alvarado-Diaz, Eduardo was reported deceased on Saturday, February 25, 2023, after his body was found within the Tohono O’odham Nation in Pima County, AZ, just south of Tucson. Eduardo was fully fleshed, and his cause of death was determined to be the result of hypothermia due to environmental exposure.

Eduardo was a fourteen-year-old boy. Through sheer determination, he trekked across the Mexican border and almost made it to Tucson before his untimely death. Traveling alone, Eduardo attempted to find a main road to seek help after being separated from the group he had crossed with, but his body could not endure long enough. He had been dead for less than a day before he was found—if only that help had come just a few hours sooner.

Eduardo was a fourteen-year-old boy.

Here lies Eduardo Alvarado-Diaz. Eduardo was a fourteen-year-old boy, maybe from Mexico City. He would have been 1,400 miles from his home if it was one straight shot, though that’s unlikely.

His story is one of uncertainty:

Eduardo might have taken a bus all the way to Sonora before braving the trek alone through the desert, a 23-hour drive crammed in dusty heat. 2,000 miles.

Eduardo could have been on his way to meet his sister who had crossed the border three years before and had a home waiting for him on the other side.

Eduardo possibly left his home last week after his mother told him he must. Their hometown, Morelos, Mexico City, has the highest rates of homicide of any town in Mexico.

Maybe he was running from gang initiation. Maybe this gang was new to town, and just maybe this was the same group of cartel members who killed three police officers in Mexico City three days ago. Maybe he fleeing to preserve his innocence.

We’ll never know, because here lies Eduardo Alvarado-Diaz.