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NY Post
New York Post
24 Aug 2023


NextImg:Parents find remains of teen son hugging his dead dog in wildfire destroyed home in Maui

Grieving parents found the body of their 14-year-old adopted son hugging his dead dog after the Maui wildfires — then carried him around half a mile to a police station to be confirmed among the dead.

Schoolboy Keyiro Fuentes had been home alone enjoying his last day of summer break when the deadliest US wildfires in a century started overwhelming his neighborhood in Lahaina, his mother, Luz Vargas, told CBS News.

The mom was working five miles away at the time — and unable to get home when she saw the smoke, despite begging cops to let her through their barriers.

When she the rest of her family managed to search their home two days later, they found Fuentes’ charred body wrapped around his dead dog, the sobbing mom told CBS.

“He was not as I expected, in ashes,” she said of the body thought to have been preserved by the extreme heat.

Keyiro Fuentes, 14, was found dead, hugging his dog after the Maui wildfires destroyed his hometown.
Courtesy photo

“God maintained him like this. So, we knew it was him,” she said of her adopted son.

The family then wrapped Fuentes’ body in a tarp, carrying the remains half a mile to the nearest police station.

His adoptive mother, Luz Vargas, said her family was preparing for his 15th birthday party.
His adoptive mother, Luz Vargas, said her family was preparing for his 15th birthday party.
CBS

Maui Police Department on Thursday confirmed to HawaiiNewsNow that the body had been dropped there.

“The individual’s biological relatives are residents of Mexico, and efforts are underway to conduct DNA testing to make a positive identification,” the department said.

Vargas raced into the inferno that consumed Lahaina on Aug. 8 in a desperate attempt to locate her son.
Vargas raced into the inferno that consumed Lahaina on Aug. 8 in a desperate attempt to locate her son.
County of Maui /AFP via Getty Images

The family who adopted Fuentes had been preparing a 15th birthday party for him — but instead spent the day remembering his life with a vigil.

Mom Luz, who runs a cleaning service, recalled her despair at being unable to reach the boy when she first saw huge plumes of black smoke rising above their hometown.

Keyiro Fuentes was alone at home enjoying the last day of summer vacation while his family was at work.
Keyiro Fuentes was alone at home enjoying the last day of summer vacation while his family was at work.
Courtesy photo
The boy was among at least 114 confirmed dead in the ruins of Lahaina.
The boy was among at least 115 confirmed dead in the ruins of Lahaina.
NYPJ

When they were prevented from driving toward the area, Luz took off running on foot, with neighbors trying to stop her.

“They were saying, ‘Don’t go. Don’t go.’ I said, ‘But it’s my son!’” she told HawaiiNewsNow.

Vargas said she made it to the front of the blaze, but was told to go back because everyone else had evacuated.
Vargas said she made it to the front of the blaze, but was told to go back because everyone else had evacuated.
CBS

She was also stopped at a police barrier stopping people from going into the disaster zone.

“I threw myself on the floor, lifted my hands up and begged God,” she said, saying she was told to just have faith that the boy got out.

Instead, he is among at least 115 killed in the blaze, with more than 1,000 still missing.

Instead of celebrating Fuentes's 15th birthday, the family held a vigil in his honor.
Instead of celebrating Fuentes’s 15th birthday, the family held a vigil in his honor.
CBS

“I wish I could’ve made more memories with him,” his brother, Josue Garcia Vargas, said.

“He was too young. If he still had time. I know he would’ve been a very, very, very good man.”