Investigators are reviewing surveillance video as they work to reconstruct the 2-year-old girl’s movements before searchers found her unresponsive.
SAN ANTONIO — Police are investigating how 2-year-old Aryana Trevino Martinez left a Northwest Side residence and reached an overgrown creek area, where she was found unresponsive several hours after relatives reported her missing.
Aryana disappeared Sunday evening from a residence near the 4700 block of Allegheny Drive, according to preliminary information released by the San Antonio Police Department. Her disappearance prompted an AMBER Alert and a large search involving officers, relatives, neighbors and other volunteers. Searchers located her shortly after midnight in a brushy area near Belle Ellen Drive. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office said she was pronounced dead at 12:12 a.m. Monday. Her cause and manner of death remained under investigation Tuesday.
Relatives contacted police at about 8 p.m. Sunday and said Aryana had wandered away from the property, police reported. Officers established a search area and deployed several resources across the surrounding neighborhood. Authorities also released information describing the toddler and the clothing she was believed to be wearing as they asked the public to help locate her.
Surveillance footage obtained during the investigation appears to show Aryana walking alone through an alley toward the area where she was later found, according to local news reports. Police have not publicly released the complete recording or provided a detailed account of how she left the residence. Investigators also have not confirmed the full route she traveled, how long she was outside or whether anyone saw her before she reached the creek area.
Anna Marie Ramirez told KSAT that her adult son, Uriel Ramirez, found Aryana while they were helping search the neighborhood. She said searchers focused on the overgrown area after learning that surveillance video showed the toddler moving in that direction. First responders attempted life-saving measures after Aryana was located, but she was later pronounced dead.
The area near Belle Ellen Drive contains thick vegetation and a water-filled drainage creek. Authorities have not announced that Aryana drowned or determined publicly whether water contributed to her death. Reports about whether she was found in the water or beside it have differed, and police had not released a final account as of Tuesday. Findings from the medical examiner are expected to help investigators determine what happened.
Police have not reported evidence that Aryana was abducted or publicly said they suspect foul play. Authorities said her family was cooperating with the investigation. No arrests or criminal charges had been announced, and police had not identified who was responsible for watching the child before she disappeared.
Other parts of the timeline also remained unclear. Police had not explained whether Aryana passed through an open door or gate, when she was last seen inside the residence or how she traveled through the neighborhood without being stopped. Detectives continued gathering surveillance recordings and interviewing people who were in the area Sunday night.
Neighbors, relatives and volunteers searched yards, alleys and heavy brush as helicopters flew over the community. After Aryana was found, residents placed flowers, stuffed animals and candles near the search area. Community members gathered Tuesday evening for a vigil honoring the child and offering support to her family.
The investigation remained active Tuesday as detectives worked to reconstruct Aryana’s movements and awaited the medical examiner’s findings. Police had not announced when additional information about the circumstances or cause of her death would be released.
Author note: Last updated August 4, 2026.