Family Mourning Death of Father They Just Found After 24 Years
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – June 10, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) Jason and Jon Martinez, as well as their two sisters, last saw their dad, Larry Martinez, 24 years ago when they were teenagers.
Last year, with the help of their aunt, they found him living in Las Vegas. Over the next several months they talked frequently over the phone and Jason and Jon decided to plan a surprise reunion this upcoming Father’s Day.
Friday afternoon, June 4, just two weeks shy of Father’s day, Jason got a call from the Las Vegas Coroners Office informing him that his father had been involved in a hit and run and he did not survive.
“Our family is heartbroken at losing him and how he tragically left,” said Jason. “We just can’t bear the thought of him dying in the street all alone,”
According to Las Vegas Police, Larry Martinez was hit by a drunk driver while he was riding his bike on Charleston Blvd. The driver of the car that hit Martinez had been in an accident just prior to the one that killed him. After fleeing the scene of that accident he was involved in a third accident and was eventually arrested.
It has been a long 24 years for the Martinez family. Jason’s mom and dad had divorced when they were young boys and both their mom and dad eventually remarried.
When Jason was 16, he tried to go live with his dad but found his dad and step-mom had moved out of Utah. That was the last time Jason or any of his siblings spoke to him until last year.
They got their hopes up in 1996 when their dad called from the Lamplighter Motel in Las Vegas. Jason said his aunt wrote the number down on a piece of paper and gave it to him but when he called his dad was no longer there.
“I still carry that piece of paper in my wallet this very day,” said Jason. It was the only hope he had that one day he would find his dad.
Fourteen years later, based on a whim, their aunt called back to the Lamplighter Motel. This time, he was there. Larry now worked for them as a maintenance man.
Fearing his kids hated him, Larry was hesitant to reconnect but their aunt assured him they were never mad at him and they missed him dearly.
“I still have the message saved in my voice mail from the day she called to tell me that she found our dad,” said Jason. “I immediately called my Dad and we talked a lot. There was no forgiveness needed, I couldn’t have been more happy to finally find him and talk to him. It was almost like we never missed a beat.”
Jason was able to tell their dad that he was such a great father during the times they were with him and how much they loved him. They didn’t lose touch again after that. Jason says “I now have a recent message from him that says ‘love you, son’, I missed that so much all those years. I will never erase that message, it’s all I have left.”
Jason and Jon are now struggling to realize that after 24 years of not seeing their dad, that instead of continuing to plan their reunion, they are now planning his funeral. “We want to bring him back to Utah to be buried here so we will always have him close by,” said Jason. Both Jason and Jon are in Las Vegas now trying to figure out the next steps of transporting their dad here. “‘I’m heartbroken to have to reunite with him now that he is no longer alive. He had such a special spirit.”
The family is asking for anyone who maybe able to help with the cost to bring their father home to Utah to visit their GoFundMe page.
