A Nevada mother is demanding justice for her daughter after discovering her tragic fate through a phone location app. The app revealed her daughter’s location at the coroner’s office, following a fatal hit-and-run incident. The driver responsible for her death has since been deported to Guatemala, complicating prosecution efforts, the local district attorney confirmed.

Cheri Brown, the mother of Amber Brown, recounted the shock to Las Vegas CBS affiliate KLAS. “I completely broke down,” she said, describing the moment she realized her daughter’s phone was at the coroner’s office.

Amber, aged 33, was tragically killed while crossing Rancho Drive at Decatur Boulevard on June 19, 2025. According to police, Angel Franco Merida, 37, ran a red light in a marked crosswalk, striking Amber. Hours passed before Cheri learned of the incident, as reported by KLAS.

“When she didn’t return home, I was consumed with panic,” Cheri Brown shared.

Franco Merida fled the scene but was later apprehended and charged with reckless driving resulting in death, police reported. He appeared before the Las Vegas Justice Court, where he was granted a $50,000 bond. He posted bail just two days following the tragic crash, further fueling the family’s frustration.

ICE agents took him into custody shortly after he left jail, KLAS reports.

“My understanding is that he was taken by ICE,” Franco Merida’s attorney told a judge on June 24, five days after his arrest. A U.S. immigration judge granted him a voluntary departure in July 2025 and he failed to appear at the next hearing he had scheduled, according to court records obtained by KLAS.

A warrant was issued for Franco Merida’s arrest, but authorities have been unable to take him in because ICE deported the man to Guatemala, prosecutors say. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson told KLAS that ICE never notified his office or told him about the deportation.

“They snatched him and took him right under our noses before we even knew it,” Wolfson said this week. “As far as I’m concerned, the family was cheated. They were cheated in the state court system where he’s being prosecuted.”

KLAS reports that if he was still in Nevada, Franco Merida would have faced a potential prison sentence of one to six years behind bars for Amber Brown’s death. Records show that the case was effectively closed in September after a judge exonerated his bond.

“I think it’s horrible,” Cheri Brown blasted. “I think that they should bring him back. He should serve justice. He killed my daughter. Just because he is from another country — it shouldn’t be a free ticket to just flee the country.”

ICE did not respond to Law&Crime’s requests for comment on Thursday.