Wilmer Amber Alert turns into homicide investigation

WILMER – An Amber Alert for 10-year-old Ian Aguilar, which was issued this past Tuesday turned into a homicide investigation as well.

Aguilar was last seen on Tuesday, Nov. 14 in the 20 block of Oakdale in Wilmer.

During the early hours of the Amber Alert, police were searching for Aguilar’s father, Juan Aguilar-Cano, 38, for the abduction, but Aguilar-Cano quickly became a homicide suspect.

Aguilar’s mother was found dead the same day the boy disappeared. Neighbors originally reported that information, and Wilmer police confirmed. The Dallas County Sheriff’s Department has taken over the homicide part of the investigation.

Law enforcement had reason to believe Aguilar was in immediate danger due to the abduction. They reported a 2007 tan Chevrolet Tahoe with a Texas license plate as the vehicle the boy and his father were in, but a few days later the vehicle was found abandoned near a Houston area bus station. 

The boy and his father remain missing.

As the story progressed through the week, the Wilmer Police Department was in contact and working with the FBI, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the US Marshall’s Office and the Department of Family and Protective Services. 

By Friday, Wilmer Police Chief Victor Kemp said in a written statement, “the Wilmer Police Department has reason to believe Ian Aguilar is with a family member in Mexico and no longer with his father.

“While communication with family member’s is encouraging, and we now have hope and reason to believe Ian is okay, our investigation continues, and will continue, until we have absolute verification Ian is not in danger.”

Kemp added it is his hope Ian will be united with family members in the area “sooner than later.”