60 Minutes: Mother Tells Story Behind Tragic Photo Of Her Husband & Daughter Washed Up On The Rio Grande

We now know the whole story behind that heart-wrenching photo captured this past summer.   A father and his daughter drowned while crossing the Rio Grande. The image of their bodies washed up on the river bank went viral, a tragic reminder of the peril faced by thousands of Central Americans trying to make it to America. Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez and his 23-month-old daughter, Valeria, were photographed clutching each other on the banks of the Rio Grande. Now, for the first time, Tania Avalos, Valeria’s mother, is talking about the experience. She spoke with 60 Minutes about their four-month journey across Mexico and the last hours before the death of her husband and child. Avalos said when they got to the Mexican side of the Rio Grande, “thugs” demanded $1300. CBS writes:

Tania Avalos (Translation): We probably spent a good amount of time walking around and thinking about what we were going to do. So, we thought, let’s cross the river because we don’t have any money to pay someone to get us across to immigration.” Right then and there, we decided that we were going to cross the river.

They went to the banks of the Rio Grande, known in Spanish as the Rio Bravo or “rough river.” Here, it’s about 50 yards wide. America appeared to be in reach. Tania said they made the decision to swim across the river and enter the United States illegally. 

Avalos, who couldn’t swim, was carried on someone’s back while her husband carried Valeria on his back. At one point though the 21-year-old says, “I just saw [my husband] giving me a glance, and then, I couldn’t see him anymore. I could not see him anymore.”

https://twitter.com/60Minutes/status/1198761941726105600

And while the immigrant crisis isn’t in the headlines much anymore, this story is a reminder that people are still making the dangerous journey every day.

Watch more above from 60 Minutes.