"Return of Jesus" (by Dean Knuth)

Carlos Lopez Palomares is the first to pay his respects to his nephew, Jesus Alberto Cabral Lopez, at a wake the night before his funeral - almost 15 months after he died while attempting to cross the border in the Arizona desert. Jesus' father, left, had placed his son's portrait on the coffin in the family carport in Villa Juarez, Sonora, Mexico. "Were there any problems getting him across the border?" he had asked Jesus brother.

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:45:35 +0000

Carlos Lopez Palomares is the first to pay his respects to his nephew, Jesus Alberto Cabral Lopez, at a wake the night before his funeral - almost 15 months after he died while attempting to cross the border in the Arizona desert. Jesus' father, left, had placed his son's portrait on the coffin in the family carport in Villa Juarez, Sonora, Mexico. "Were there any problems getting him across the border?" he had asked Jesus brother.
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Jeronimo Garcia Ceballos of the Mexican Consulate in Tucson, Arizona studies the skull of John Doe 055 at the Pima County Medical Examiner's Office on May 11, 2007. Ceballos was involved with the effort to determine the identity of the remains believed to be of Jesus Alberto Cabral Lopez. Lopez died in May of 2006 while attempting to cross the border into the United States. His bones baked in the desert sun for roughly one year until he was found by Border Patrol. It then took some three months to identify and return him home.

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:46:08 +0000

Jeronimo Garcia Ceballos of the Mexican Consulate in Tucson, Arizona studies the skull of John Doe 055 at the Pima County Medical Examiner's Office on May 11, 2007. Ceballos was involved with the effort to determine the identity of the remains believed to be of Jesus Alberto Cabral Lopez. Lopez died in May of 2006 while attempting to cross the border into the United States. His bones baked in the desert sun for roughly one year until he was found by Border Patrol. It then took some three months to identify and return him home.
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Guadalupe Lopez looks at baby photos of her missing son at her home in Villa Juarez, Mexico. She last spoke to her son the day before he crossed the border in search of work. After more than a year of uncertainty, the likelihood of his death is becoming more real to her.

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:46:57 +0000

Guadalupe Lopez looks at baby photos of her missing son at her home in Villa Juarez, Mexico. She last spoke to her son the day before he crossed the border in search of work. After more than a year of uncertainty, the likelihood of his death is becoming more real to her.
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This photo, one of two given to Mexican authorities by the Lopez family, held the key to Jesus' case. A gap between two teeth in the photo matched the gap in the skull of John Doe 055, who was finally identified as Jesus.

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:58:22 +0000

This photo, one of two given to Mexican authorities by the Lopez family, held the key to Jesus' case. A gap between two teeth in the photo matched the gap in the skull of John Doe 055, who was finally identified as Jesus.
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Jesus' brother Rosendo Arturo Cabral Lopez, left, and mother Guadalupe Lopez, deliver photos of Jesus to a Secretariat of Foreign Relations official in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico. The photos took six weeks to reach Tucson, where they helped identify Jesus' remains.

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:58:57 +0000

Jesus' brother Rosendo Arturo Cabral Lopez, left, and mother Guadalupe Lopez, deliver photos of Jesus to a Secretariat of Foreign Relations official in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico. The photos took six weeks to reach Tucson, where they helped identify Jesus' remains.
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In a human moment that transcends international politics and paperwork, Customs and Border Portection officers help Rosendo Arturo Cabral Lopez, who hesitated before stepping across the line which divides the United States and Mexico, carry his brother's coffin across the border at Nogales. Lopez thought he would never enter the United States, until a CBP agent pointed and asked him to step across the line. He knows the only way to come into the United States again would be to follow the path of his deceased brother and cross the border illegally.

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:59:42 +0000

In a human moment that transcends international politics and paperwork, Customs and Border Portection officers help Rosendo Arturo Cabral Lopez, who hesitated before stepping across the line which divides the United States and Mexico, carry his brother's coffin across the border at Nogales. Lopez thought he would never enter the United States, until a CBP agent pointed and asked him to step across the line. He knows the only way to come into the United States again would be to follow the path of his deceased brother and cross the border illegally.
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Family members hadn't expected a full-sized coffin since they knew it would contain only bones. They had to go to a hardware store to buy rope. Rosendo Cabral Urquijo, left, Oscar Barba and Rosendo Arturo Cabral Lopez tie the coffin down in the pickup.

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:06:08 +0000

Family members hadn't expected a full-sized coffin since they knew it would contain only bones. They had to go to a hardware store to buy rope. Rosendo Cabral Urquijo, left, Oscar Barba and Rosendo Arturo Cabral Lopez tie the coffin down in the pickup.
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Seven hours into a nine-hour journey, family members driving the coffin home stop at an open-air restaurant for carne asada tacos, while traffic passes by on Sonora Mexico' Federal Highway 15.

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:06:41 +0000

Seven hours into a nine-hour journey, family members driving the coffin home stop at an open-air restaurant for carne asada tacos, while traffic passes by on Sonora Mexico' Federal Highway 15.
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Guadalupe Lopez is comforted by family members at a viewing of her son's coffin. Family members stayed up next to the coffin all night as relatives and friends congregated in front of a carport where the coffin was placed.

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:08:17 +0000

Guadalupe Lopez is comforted by family members at a viewing of her son's coffin. Family members stayed up next to the coffin all night as relatives and friends congregated in front of a carport where the coffin was placed.
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As Banda Santa Teresa members riding in a truck play the music Jesus loved, friends and family members follow the hearse to Iglesia San Isidro Labrador for his funeral Mass.

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:08:47 +0000

As Banda Santa Teresa members riding in a truck play the music Jesus loved, friends and family members follow the hearse to Iglesia San Isidro Labrador for his funeral Mass.
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Jesus coffin arrives at the cemetery as the sun sets behind the Cross of Forgiveness. His mother, Guadalupe, will someday be buried in the plot next to him.

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:09:18 +0000

Jesus coffin arrives at the cemetery as the sun sets behind the Cross of Forgiveness. His mother, Guadalupe, will someday be buried in the plot next to him.
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The grave is sealed in concrete, a common practice in Mexico. Behind it stands a marker reading "Young man Jesus Alberto Cabral Lopez, died May 12, 2006, 23 years of age." That date was the last time he talked to his mother. The letters at the bottom stand for "que en paz descanse," rest in peace.

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:11:34 +0000

The grave is sealed in concrete, a common practice in Mexico. Behind it stands a marker reading "Young man Jesus Alberto Cabral Lopez, died May 12, 2006, 23 years of age." That date was the last time he talked to his mother. The letters at the bottom stand for "que en paz descanse," rest in peace.
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