Oscar Isidro spoke to his mom every day. So when the 25-year-old didn't call or answer his phone on Jan. 12, she knew something was wrong.
He had been distraught over his sister's recent detainment by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Ana said.
"He was under a lot of pressure," Ana told KERA in Spanish. "He didn't know what to do to help his sister."
Rubiana Isidro was detained at her annual check-in at the Dallas ICE Field Office on Jan. 9. She was under the impression that she was signing her parole for asylum but never came out, Ana said.
Oscar, a U.S. citizen, was already suffering from a "hard depression" after his father was deported to Peru last year — and the trauma resurfaced when his sister, also a Peruvian national, was taken into ICE custody.
"They were very close. It was his first Christmas without his father here with him," Ana said.
On a Friday afternoon, his mother Ana, sat on a couch in the apartment where her son lived; his belongings remained untouched. As she spoke with KERA, she pressed her son's red jacket to her heart. It has the word "Peru" in the back — his favorite, she said.
The last time Ana spoke to Oscar was on Jan. 11. The next day, he went missing. And two weeks later, on Jan. 26, his body was found in the suburb of Balch Springs, approximately 15 miles away from his Northeast Dallas home.
"It hits twice as hard because of the death of my son and my daughter in ICE custody," Ana said.
The apartment complex told Ana and her husband, Ernesto, that Isidro had last been seen at 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 12 when he left for work; he took the bus there early each morning. His employer confirmed to the family that he had been at work, but Ana said he never returned home.
The Dallas Medical Examiner has ruled the death as suicide, but Ana said she still has lots of questions.
"I, as a mother, know my son," Ana said. "In his 25 years of life, he never grabbed a gun. I know it wasn't suicide."
She said Dallas Police have not provided her with information since her son's disappearance. Balch Springs Police told KERA that because the death was determined to be a suicide, "there is no separate criminal investigation being conducted."
For two weeks, family, friends and others had shared Isidro's photo in hopes of finding him. Alfonso Solis, who has led various search and rescue efforts in North Texas, got connected to the family via social media.
"This was at the beginning of when it was starting to get cold, so we didn't have a lot of time," Solis said.
He got the word out to the areas of Balch Springs, Pleasant Grove and Mesquite, because he knew Isidro had some contacts there. He called warming stations throughout north Texas and interviewed the family in hopes of finding answers.
A social media scam targeting a vulnerable population
As the family waited to receive any word from their son, they began to receive threatening messages on social media and WhatsApp from a person claiming to have taken their son hostage.
The alleged scammers sent an AI-generated video of Isidro waving his hand. The phone number had a country code of 52 from Mexico. Solis said things didn't add up.
"It looked very realistic," he said. "I'm like, this is too clean, you know. I expect to see wrinkles and dirt. If you're looking like you just came out of the cleaners, there's something wrong with that."
Solis helped the family dispel the scam before they sent out any money. He said the scammer was "playing off of their emotions" — and using a common tactic targeting immigrants.
"They want compensation for your pain," Solis said. "In the last three years that I've been doing this, I myself have received phone calls. I have spoken to these people. They pretend to be cartel or what not."
Ana said the messages mentioned the names of her three other daughters. She remains "terrified" to leave her home.
Plea for daughter's humanitarian release
As the family prepares for Isidro's funeral this Friday, they are hoping their daughter Rubiana, who has been in the U.S. for the last four years, will be granted permission to attend. KERA has reached out to ICE for a statement about Rubiana Isidro's detainment and is waiting for a response.
Ana said she fears what would happen to her daughter if she was to be deported to Peru. Her father has since moved to another country.
"She doesn't have brothers or family in Peru," she said. "Her father isn't there and I am here. She doesn't have anyone there. We are all here."
The money the family was gathering to hire an attorney for Rubiana is now being used for her brother Oscar's funeral. A sibling has organized a fundraiser to help cover the costs.
The family is asking for help from the Peruvian Consulate and are trying different resources to have Rubiana released.
They are also hoping an elected official will intervene and help them with Rubiana's release.
"She is suffering alone in detention," Ana said. "She doesn't have me with her to tell her everything is going to be okay or give her a hug. She's going through this process alone."
Priscilla Rice is KERA's communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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