Oscar Hernandez is out playing soccer at Whitsett Fields when he meets Coach Mario Garcia-Aquino. Garcia-Aquino approaches Oscar about joining the Huacane Club, telling the boy he’s impressed with his skills. When Garcia-Aquino offers him one-on-one lessons free of charge, Oscar jumps at the chance.
On a Friday afternoon, Coach Garcia-Aquino calls his star student and invites Oscar to earn some money doing a few odd jobs at his Lancaster home. The teen is immediately interested. Before the 13-year-old gets permission from his family, he boards the next train to Lancaster, a two-hour trip. Oscar FaceTimes his brother, Josue, from the train, telling him the coach will drop him off at home the next morning.
Later that night, Josue tries to call Oscar again, but it’s not his little brother who answers — it’s Coach Garcia-Aquino. The coach tells Josue that Oscar can’t come to the phone because his hands are dirty. Josue asks what time he can expect Oscar home, but Garcia-Aquino waves him off, again promising to bring Oscar back at a reasonable hour Saturday.
Saturday morning comes and goes, and Oscar still isn’t home. The teen isn’t answering his phone either. It’s already dark when the Hernandez family finally reaches Garcia-Aquino. The coach says he dropped Oscar off that afternoon in North Hollywood, but claims he can’t remember exactly where the boy got out of the car. The family prays Oscar will come home that night, but when he does not, they report him missing first thing Sunday morning.
Joining Nancy Grace today,
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[Feature Photo: Oscar Omar Hernandez/Handout]
