A community’s desperate search for a Stockton teenager who went missing in the Calaveras River near Stagg High School last week ended tragically Tuesday with the discovery of his body.
The San Joaquin County Medical Examiner confirmed that a body located in the river by a volunteer diver was that of 15-year-old Xavier Martinez, who had been missing for six days.
Professional diver Juan Heredia entered the river early Tuesday morning in an attempt to help Xavier’s family with their search and within 30 minutes located the teen’s body, which was standing up, in low-visibility water, but not stuck on any obstacles.
The site of the discovery was just a few yards west of the high school campus.
After a report was made last Wednesday that a child was believed to have jumped in the water who had not reemerged, law enforcement and first responders had actively searched the waters without any results.
Stockton Unified School District officials said Xavier and another teenage boy had been involved in a fight on campus before they both jumped in the water as they fled from school resource officers. The other boy came to the surface and survived.
District officials alleged that they did not pursue the teens off campus, but Xavier’s mom Amanda Jurado questioned why her child was chased during an interview last week.
“I just want to know what happened and why did the school chase him into this water?” she said. “I just feel like they shouldn’t have even chased him. He was already off the school property.”
The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s boating unit had been doing water searches since the teen’s disappearance last Wednesday, but as of Friday said that they would stop searching the water and move to ground searches.
Community unites
The search for Xavier and his tragic loss have both shocked and galvanized the community, many of whom showed up over the weekend to rally behind his family and help in their efforts to locate him.
More than 20 cars parked Sunday alongside the river near Mission Road and River Drive.
While some people donated kayaks and life jackets, others gave their time to search in the area where Xavier had last been seen the afternoon of March 13.
Xavier’s mother said 10 life jackets had been donated and two volunteer dive teams came to the scene to look for her child just days after she took to social media to asked the community to come out and help search for him.
“It’s really sad … I have two teens … ugh, it touches my heart.” Rommy Campos, search volunteer
After Lamar Scott, a dedicated community activist, heard the mother’s request he first posted a call to action on Facebook that said, “Who has a boat that wants to go out there?… Let’s do something more than just watch and send thoughts and prayers.”
Scott said he assisted Xavier’s mother in rallying volunteers through social media and helped put a few boats in the water as well as kayaks to search the area.
Rommy Campos along with her husband and kids stood Sunday at the levee watching as boats searched the waters.
Campos said she lives in the area and had come out to the scene frequently since the news about Martinez broke.
“It’s really sad … I have two teens … ugh, it touches my heart,” Campos said.
Also in attendance was Stockton Unified Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez.
“I have been out every day because we know how important it is to support family, friends, students and staff,” said Rodriguez said, expressing hope that Xavier would be found and reunited with his family.
The district has said that although school is on break, counselors and mental health clinicians are available for family, friends, students and residents.
Delta conceals dangers below its surface
Water currents throughout the Delta can be dangerous and unpredictable, often disguising rocks, branches and other debris lurking below the surface. First responders are frequently dispatched to drownings during the spring and summer months when boaters and other water enthusiasts take to the rivers and sloughs, often lacking proper safety equipment or awareness of the risks.
The circumstances that led to the two teens jumping off the levee into the Calaveras River remain murky.
Stockton Unified spokesperson Melinda Meza said that two students got into a fight at the Stagg High campus Wednesday when two other students wearing ski masks — one of them later identified as Xavier — jumped into the fray before school administrators broke it up.
She said when police attempted to identify the two people wearing masks, they fled off of the campus and ran to the levee.
An officer who was returning to campus drove onto the levee to see if he could spot the teens and from a distance allegedly saw them on an island. He alleged that both of the boys jumped into the water.
District officials said the officer drove to the other side of the levee to reach the pair and was told by one of the boys that his friend could still possibly be in the water.
Victoria Franco is a reporter based in Stockton covering San Joaquin County for Bay City News Foundation and its nonprofit news site Local News Matters. She is a Report for America corps member.
