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Family holds fundraiser for Mauricio Carreon

Posted at 10:17 PM, Apr 24, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-25 08:09:00-04
Nine On Your Side spoke to the family of a missing hiker for the first time since he was found dead in Sabino Canyon. Mauricio Carreon was missing for seven days after hiking one of the trails earlier this month. Another hiker found his body near Seven Falls a week later. Now, his family is trying to raise money for his funeral.
 
"It was really tough on us when we first found out what happened to him," said Carreon's niece, Karla Machado.
 
The Pima County Medical Examiner says the 28-year-old drowned after hiking at Sabino Canyon.
 
"He did not know how to swim," said Machado.
 
Caerreon's family says they still don't have all the answers they're looking for. 
 
"We're not really sure what happened, we don't really have that closure because my grandma asked a whole bunch of questions like, 'Why was he found there? Why would he want to go there when he knew he had a specific time he had to be home?' So, there's still a lot of questions but they told us that he drowned and that's about it."
 
The family set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for funeral costs. They also held a fundraiser on Sunday selling homemade Mexican food at Rodeo Park. 
 
They're hoping to raise $7,500 to bring him back home to Mexico before being laid to rest.
 
"Our family is really sad that since so many days passed in the search, we aren't able to see his body. They aren't letting us do that, because he was so far gone it didn't look like him anymore."
 
But, through the tragedy, Carreon's family says they've grown even closer. 
 
"This has kind of distracted us a little bit," said Machado. "Planning all these events to raise the funds has helped our family."
 
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