The body of a little girl was found in a microwave over the weekend, and police are still trying to put all the pieces together to figure out exactly what happened.
Saturday, at around 7 p.m., San Antonio police and dozens of volunteers began a search for Rebecca Maria Herrera, who was reportedly missing for several hours until she was found in an old microwave in her family’ backyard.
Police believe the little girl crawled into the microwave, possibly playing hide-and-seek and became trapped.
Her father, John Herrera, an officer with the San Antonio Police Bike Patrol, was in Florida at the time of the incident.
Rebecca’s 10-year-old brother and a police officer found her when he decided to open the old-fashioned microwave on a whim, since it was just sitting atop a pile of old heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment, officials say.
One of the volunteers, Stephanie Almendarez, lives across the street from the girl’s family and said she heard someone yell, “I found her,” which was then followed by crying.
Police told reporters that Rebecca was small for her age, and liked to hide inside small spaces. It is believed this was simply a tragic accident and is being investigated as an accidental sudden death, though an autopsy report is pending.
