A Michigan art student on vacation in Mexico has passed away in a bold rescue attempt to save his friend from the deadly Liptid off the coast of Cancun Easter.
Alejandro Gonzalez, 20, was drawn into the ocean by a strong current while swimming with a group of friends around 7:30pm on Sunday, his grieving mother said.
“We offered hope and prayed for a miracle. The outcome was not what we wanted, but God answered our prayers」 Renee Gonzalez I wrote it on Facebook on wednesday. “Alejandro’s body has been discovered. We’ll be able to bring the baby home.”
The Saginaw, Michigan native traveled on a Caribbean holiday with three high school friends before the tragedy began.
He was taking photos at the edge of the water the night he died, his mother shared.
“The photo comes from the evening when he went into the water. The smile on his face reminds me of how happy he is to be with his friends and spend some new time somewhere. It’s good to know that he was so happy.”
The photo was taken of a smiling artist giving a thumbs up to the camera while standing in tropical waters.
Gonzalez swam when one of his friends got caught up in Liptido and the artist jumped to save her, but “we lost in the process.” To gofundme Set up for his family.
His body was recovered by staff on Wednesday after a three-day search.
Gonzalez graduated from Saginaw Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2022 and worked as a barista at a local cafe.
He studied at Creative Study College in Detroit. Reported by Mlive.com.
“Alejandro is a talented artist and a great friend. He lights up the room and is always on new projects,” said fundraiser Heather Shepherd.
“He is considerate of his friends and family, fiercely loyal and unafraid of trying new things. He is smart, consistently high grades and high performance in everything he does.”
After graduating, Gonzalez lent his artistic skills to his community’s “Great Mural Project” in 2023, adorning a cat-themed utility box mural in Sanio.
Under the mural, it was installed underneath the mural, along with a drive to donate to a local animal shelter in his name.
The crowdsourcing project, originally set up to assist with searches, is now being used to donate funding the cost of transport to bring Gonzalez back to his family.
“It seems Matt and I will not be going to Mexico, but we will need the help of the costs of bringing him home and all the costs involved in this situation,” said Lenny Gonzalez.
