Mother describes moment she found infant son ‘lifeless’ while camping at Lake Mead

A 4-month old boy died Saturday during a family camping outing at Lake Mead National Recreation Area, officials announced Thursday.

About 8:30 a.m., a 911 call reported that an infant was unresponsive and not breathing near the 33 Hole Overlook, the National Park Service said in a statement.

A man who was boating in the area heard screams for help, beached his vessel and gave the baby CPR with the mother until paramedics arrived, officials said. The baby was ultimately pronounced dead shortly after 9 a.m.

A GoFundMe page created by the child’s mother Monday identified the little boy who died as Jaxson Jesselee Lial-Garza. In an emotional post, the mother, Miranda Lial, began by saying Jaxson had been born premature in July and spent the first two weeks of his life in a neonatal intensive care unit.

At that time, she said, “All I could do was sit and pray he would fight to get better.”

The mother went on to explain that, during a bout of postpartum depression this fall, she “turned down medications and started going to the lake.”

“Many didn’t understand the peace I found out there,” she wrote. “It became our second home and I enjoyed every second of it.”

The mother continued the post by describing the family’s most recent camping trip the night of Nov. 25, just after Thanksgiving. She, her husband, and their five children, including Jaxson, slept together in the tent that night, she said, adding that Jaxson had his own little spot to sleep so he “couldn’t roll or push himself over.”

But the next morning, just hours after Jaxson fell fast asleep, she awoke to find Jaxson, “motionless, with a blank lifeless stare.”

“I instantly started CPR,” she wrote. Panicked, she pleaded for her son to breathe, cry, anything while her husband herded the other children out of the tent. Outside, together, they called 911 and waved down the nearby boater.

Help arrived about 40 minutes later, the mother said, and paramedics worked on the baby until the woman soon asked them to stop.

“I didn’t want anymore pounding on his tiny little chest,” she wrote. “They cancelled the helicopter and all of the other help that was on its way. I said, ‘They needed to be available to go to the next call, maybe they can save a life.’”

“Some may not understand my decision, but I don’t regret it,” she continued. “If you know me every life matters and I would help anyone in need without hesitation. I knew my son was not coming back.”

The Clark County coroner’s office will determine the little boy’s cause of death. The incident is under investigation by the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch.

“I wish I could tell him one more time just how much I love him,” the woman wrote. “I don’t wish this feeling on anyone. Please pray for our family we definitely need it.”

When reached by the Review-Journal late Thursday, Lial said since creating the GoFundMe post, she’s received an outpouring of supportive messages from strangers in similar situations.

“Hug your kids tighter. Tell them you love them,” Lial said. “That was my main reason writing this.”

As of 9 p.m. Thursday the page had raised more than $2,800 for the child’s funeral expenses.

Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @rachelacrosby on Twitter. Contact Jessica Terrones at jterrones@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @JessATerrones on Twitter.