Community petitions to allow father of slain kidnapped teen into US for funeral
A North Carolina community is trying to help the father of a Lumberton teen who was kidnapped and killed get to her funeral.
Hania Aguilar was taken from her home in early November.
Earlier this week, her body was found in the water about 10 miles away.
>>Related: Body found off road in area searched by FBI for abducted North Carolina teen
Detectives are still searching for evidence that leads them to her killer.
Hania’s father is in Guatemala and can't make it to the United States.
A petition to the Guatemalan Embassy is circulating online to change that.
"They want to see that you have no intent to remain here in the U.S. if you enter on a nonimmigrant visa, so they're gonna look at things people don't realize, like your income, your bank accounts, your family members, all the things that would say you are gonna return to your home country," immigration attorney Stacey Maynor said.
Timeline:
- Nov. 5 -- A man wearing all black and a yellow bandana kidnapped Hania Aguilar from her front yard on Elizabethtown Road, forcing her into the family's SUV. Authorities issued an Amber Alert.
- Nov. 7 -- The FBI released surveillance video of the stolen SUV seen in Lumberton moments after the girl's kidnapping.
- Nov. 8 -- Authorities found the stolen SUV not far from the kidnapping scene, but there was no sign of Hania.
- Nov. 27 – The FBI and police find human remains off Wire Grass Road.
- Nov. 28 -- Preliminary test results from the medical examiner indicate the body found was that of Hania.
Maynor says Hania's father would need a special visa and a green card, and the process to get one of those visas could take weeks.
“Even with enough support and contacting the right people to push it through, it is very unlikely that it's gonna happen in time for him to be here for the actual funeral,” Maynor said.
Hania’s funeral is scheduled for next Saturday in Lumberton.
There is still a $30,000 reward for information that leads investigators to the person who killed the 13-year-old.
