HOUSTON (KIAH) – After days in the care of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement, 15-year-old Emmanuel Gonzalez Garcia was rushed to the hospital for surgery involving appendicitis, his mother Maria Garcia praying and pleading that he would be able to recover at home in his bed.
Cesar Espinosa, Executive Director of FIEL, and advocate for the Garcia family, said he was taken to the hospital on Monday and had surgery. They hoped Emmanuel would be released to his mother. Espinosa to CW39 at 8:17 a.m. Tuesday, that Emmanuel will be staying in the care of ORR.
It all started on October 4, when 15-year-old Emmanuel Gonzalez Garcia vanished from a fruit stand where he was helping his mom, Maria, sell fruit on a quiet Saturday afternoon. Maria said she started the stand after losing her job and needed to care for her children. She said he needed to use the bathroom, and while she tended to a customer, he walked away.
For several days, Maria searched the streets near Clay and Hempstead Road, calling Emmanuel’s name, handing out flyers, and praying someone, somewhere, had seen her son…