Officials said DNA testing of remains found on a Torrey Pines beach last week showed they were from a 10-year-old girl reported missing after a suspected smuggling vessel capsized off the Del Mar beach on May 5.
The county Medical Examiner’s Office said Mahi Brijeshkumar Patel died when the panga overturned in heavy surf off Del Mar, sending more than a dozen people into the sea.
First responders, including firefighters and lifeguards, rushed to the scene after the boat flipped over and found three people who had died and four who were taken to a hospital for treatment. Coast Guard boats and aircraft scoured the ocean for hours, searching for survivors in an area of 520 square nautical miles, before the search was suspended later that night.
Among those who drowned was the girl’s 14-year-old brother, Prince Brijeshkumar Patel. The children’s parents, who are from India, had been hospitalized after the boat capsized. Their current conditions are not known.
Two Mexican nationals also died, one of whom was identified as Marcos Lozada-Juarez.
Eight boat engers were found hours later after a tip led federal agents to a house in Chula Vista. According to court documents, two of the defendants facing federal charges were believed to have moved the missing migrants to the South County home.
Prosecutors say the boat set off from Popotla, a small fishing village just south of Rosarito and roughly 50 miles from where it capsized.
Prior to the discovery of human remains on the beach, Mahi had been considered a missing person, but authorities had said she was presumed to have drowned.
“The decedent was reported missing from the boat at that time and could not be found,” the Medical Examiner’s Office said in a statement. “A erby on 05/21/2025 found human remains on Torrey Pines State Beach and ed law enforcement. Her parents were notified of DNA testing confirming that the remains belonged to the decedent.”
Her cause of death is listed as pending.
Five people have been charged in San Diego federal court in connection with the suspected smuggling attempt. U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recommended that the Department of Justice seek the death penalty against two of the men.
The death penalty recommendation would be a steep escalation in punishment compared to other recent smuggling cases that resulted in deaths.
