New Mexico
Tucson family reunited with missing teen after he was found in New Mexico
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – A Tucson family is holding one of their own a little closer tonight.
Marcus Tessier, 13, went missing from his home near Grant and Fairview on Monday night or Tuesday morning. The teen, who is non-verbal and autistic, was found at a Walmart in Deming, New Mexico, late Tuesday.
How the teen made it more than 200 miles away is still a mystery. For now, all Marcus’ family cares about is that he is back home and safe.
More from Alex Valdez
Renee Desmond, Marcus’ mother, said the hours her son was missing were the worst in her life. According to Renee, when she woke up on Tuesday Marcus was nowhere to be found.
“He took off walking and it was just really scary,” Renee said.
Renee said having a child disappear is something no mother should ever wake up to.
“When I couldn’t find him, I realized that he had gone out,” Renee said. “I was looking in the backyard and I couldn’t find him. I went to be a security camera and I was trying to find footage to see which way he went.”
Renee immediately called the police and began the search.
“Police got the bloodhound and they were able to track him down Alturas, down to Fairview, and down to Grant to the train tracks,” Renee said. “It just stopped there.”
While it’s a mystery how Marcus got to Deming, his aunt Helene Desmond has some theories.
“There is a possibility that he hopped on a train,” she said. “There is also a possibility that a semi or a driver was stopping to get Dunkin Donuts and saw a vulnerable person.”
The Deming Police Department told 13 News that its School Resource Officer was summonsed to the Mimbres Memorial Hospital to help identify a patient.
When the SRO was unable to identify the teenager, officials quickly reached out to the New Mexico State Police for help issuing an alert.
Through investigation, Marcus was identified. His mother was notified and drove to Deming to pick him up.
“We’re so lucky and blessed that he came back to us given the circumstances and the odds,” Renee said.
According to Helene, posting on social media helped in the search.
“We were all just so shocked and being able to take pictures and hug him and hold him,” she said. “It was just a very special moment.”
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, if you happen to see a child who appears to be lost there are important tips to keep in mind.
Experts said to avoid any physical contact with the child.
If you can, ask the child questions like if they know if they are lost or the location of their parents, but remember that many children are taught not to give out too much personal information to strangers.
It’s also important to never put a child in a car, and try to seek help. If it’s safe to do so, remain at the immediate location and wait for law enforcement.
Both Helene and Renee said that as hard as it is not to blame themselves, it’s important for people not to assume or judge why or how any child vanishes.
“Children with special needs have those innate natures to want to be independent and wants to do things,” Helene said. “We have to do it in a controlled environment but not always get to it right then and there. When those things happen we have to remember, that we are human.”
The family wants to thank law enforcement and the community for their support and quick response in locating Marcus.
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Copyright 2024 13 News. All rights reserved.
Native Vote 2026
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A Laguna Pueblo woman is the front runner to be New Mexico’s next governor.
Shortly after polls closed Tuesday night, Deb Haaland was declared the winner over Bernalillo County district attorney Sam Bregman in the state’s semi-open Democratic Party primary. As of 11:00 p.m., Haaland carried support from 72% of the Democratic primary voters to Bregman’s 28%, according to unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State.
“We’re showing everyone that a better future in New Mexico is possible,” she told supporters gathered in Albuquerque’s historic Old Town Plaza. “New Mexicans want a leader who will stand up for working people, and who is ready to take on Donald Trump. I proudly accept your nomination as a Democratic nominee.”
Haaland spoke for 13 minutes, at times through a scratchy throat that required her to pause for water breaks. “Excuse me, I’ve been talking with voters all day,” she said while grabbing a water bottle before hitting her campaign stump notes on affordability, health care and public safety.
She will face Republican Gregg Hull, a former mayor from suburban Rio Rancho that won his party’s three-way primary with 47% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State.
Haaland will be the Democratic Party nominee in a state dominated at every level by Democrats, and is expected to be heavily favored in the general election. With that insight she said her campaign message does translate to Republicans and Independent voters.
“We want our kids to thrive. We want our kids to have a quality, public education. We want every New Mexican to have health care. Everybody wants to feel safe in their neighborhoods, and everybody wants to be able to afford to put a hot meal on their table every night and have a roof over their children’s heads,” she said. “Those issues transcend whatever political spectrum we’re trying to slice and dice people into.”
Shortly after the race was called, Haaland campaign staff, major donors, surrogates, and their families walked from a building on the west side of Albuquerque’s Old Town Plaza to the historic plaza core, where the Haaland campaign had set up a stage and reserved the entire plaza for its victory celebration.
“We are now witnessing history in the making,” New Mexico state Rep. Derrick Lente (Sandia Pueblo) said to supporters immediately after Haaland was declared the winner.
Denise Wilie (Dine) also joined the celebration of Haaland’s victory. Wilie said she worked on get-out-the-vote efforts with the Native American Voters Alliance in McKinley County.
“It just is so exhilarating to even think about, a woman and a Pueblo woman,” she said. “Indigenous all the way, is how I feel. I’m like, yes, let’s get more of our voices.”
Haaland was introduced by her two sisters and walked to the stage escorted by a mariachi band.
Speaking to reporters after the event Haaland reflected on voting for a Pueblo woman (herself) for governor.
“I got emotional, quite frankly, when I went to vote for myself because you do that when you’re a candidate,” she said. “We’ve never had a Native American governor in New Mexico. We’re a multicultural state. I think representation matters, especially in a political era such as this one. So, I’m really proud and honored to carry on the legacy of my ancestors, who worked so incredibly hard to make sure that I had a place here today.”
Related
When a famly unexpectedly loses a loved one, or has someone go missing, the details of what comes next can be overwhelming.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – When a famly unexpectedly loses a loved one, or has someone go missing, the details of what comes next can be overwhelming.
But they don’t have to do it alone thanks to an organization helping New Mexico families with some of those burdens.
Watch the video above for more.
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