Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage to determine how the 2-year-old reached an overgrown creek area alone.
SAN ANTONIO — Police continued investigating Tuesday how 2-year-old Aryana Trevino Martinez left a Northwest Side home and reached an overgrown creek area, where she was found unresponsive hours after relatives reported her missing.
Aryana disappeared Sunday evening from a residence in the 4700 block of Allegheny Drive, prompting an AMBER Alert and a large search by police, relatives and neighborhood volunteers. Searchers found her shortly before midnight in a brushy area near Belle Ellen Drive. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office pronounced her dead at 12:12 a.m. Monday. Her cause and manner of death remained under investigation.
Relatives contacted police at about 8 p.m. Sunday and reported that Aryana had wandered away from the property, according to preliminary information released by the San Antonio Police Department. Officers created a search area and deployed multiple resources across the neighborhood. Authorities issued an AMBER Alert describing the toddler and the clothing she was believed to be wearing.
Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators appears to show Aryana walking alone through an alley toward the area where she was later found, according to local reports. Police have not released the full recording or explained how she left the residence. Authorities also have not confirmed how long she was outside, the exact route she took or whether anyone encountered her before she reached the creek area.
A local woman told KSAT that her adult son found the child while they were helping with the neighborhood search. The woman said her son entered the overgrown area after searchers heard that surveillance footage showed Aryana moving in that direction. First responders attempted life-saving measures after the child was located, but she was later pronounced dead.
The area where Aryana was found contains thick vegetation and a water-filled drainage creek. Police have not announced that she drowned or said whether water contributed to her death. Reports from the scene differed over whether the child was found in the water or beside it, and authorities had not released a final account Tuesday. The medical examiner’s findings will be central to determining what happened.
Investigators have not reported evidence of an abduction or publicly said that foul play is suspected. Police said Aryana’s family was cooperating with the inquiry. No arrests or criminal charges had been announced, and authorities had not identified who was caring for the child before she disappeared.
Several other questions also remained unanswered. Police had not explained whether a door or gate was open, when Aryana was last seen inside the residence or how a child her age traveled through the neighborhood without being stopped. Investigators continued collecting surveillance video and speaking with people who were in the area Sunday night.
Neighbors, relatives and volunteers searched yards, alleys and heavy brush as helicopters circled above the community. The search drew a large response after word spread that a toddler was missing. Residents later left flowers, stuffed animals and candles near the area where Aryana was found.
Community members gathered Tuesday evening for a vigil honoring the child. The investigation remained active, with detectives awaiting the medical examiner’s findings and continuing their effort to reconstruct Aryana’s movements between the time she disappeared and the time she was found.
Author note: Last updated August 4, 2026.