Maria Martinez was determined to find her son, who disappeared last Thursday while on a fishing trip with his friend and cousin in a north Willacy County canal.
On Tuesday, Maria got the "bittersweet" news that rescue crews had recovered the body of her son, Liborio Martinez Jr., after his body resurfaced from the depths of the water.
Maria says she is relieved her son's body was found but her heart is destroyed.
Throughout the week, Maria and her family anxiously waited for rescue crews to find Liborio.
On Tuesday morning, family members planned to carry out their own search, but then police called.
"No one wants to hear their child is dead," Maria said.
Willacy County Sheriff Larry Spence responded to the call about a floating body found on the north main drain canal off FM 1420 just north of Willamar around 7 a.m. Tuesday.
Sheriff Spence said the clothes and description of the man matched that of Liborio Martinez Jr.
“We got the body and loaded into a body bag,” said Spence. “Brought it up on shore and waited for justice of the peace to show up who pronounced the individual dead.”
Police said there were no obvious signs of trauma when the body was recovered.
An autopsy will be performed to learn more about how Martinez died.
Maria noted Liborio loved children and are comforted by knowing his girlfriend will soon give birth to his daughter in February.
The family says they are also comforted by knowing Liborio died while doing something he loved, which was fishing.
They are also accepting donations for funeral services at Wells Fargo Bank in the name of his sister, Clara Martinez.
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