Argentine Footballer Lucas Trejo’s Last IG Story Before His Wife and Children Were Found in the Earthquake Rubble
Following the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela, Argentine football player Lucas Trejo hurried home, only to encounter the worst fear for every family as a frantic search got underway.
After losing contact with his wife and two children, Lucas Trejo spent almost three days searching the debris with rescuers. As the endeavor progressed, two intensely intimate moments encapsulated the sorrow behind one of the most poignant tales of the catastrophe.
Following the horrific earthquakes in Venezuela, the Argentine football player never gave up looking for his family. In the hopes of finding his wife and two small children alive, he stayed close to the fallen apartment building where they had vanished and assisted rescuers in sifting through the debris.
On Saturday night, June 27, 2026, that dream was tragically dashed.
After spending almost 72 hours under the debris, authorities determined that Trejo’s wife, Yanina Maranella, and their children, Aarón and Ainhoa, had all been discovered dead, according to TMZ.
When the twin earthquakes hit Venezuela on June 24, Trejo, a player with the Venezuelan team Sport Marěimo de La Guaira, was in Caracas for a league game.
When he got back to La Guaira after learning what had happened, he discovered that his family’s apartment building had entirely collapsed, according to Argentine source TN.
Trejo joined family members, volunteers, and emergency personnel digging among the wreckage after failing to get in touch with Yanina or their kids. Additionally, he made a public call for information and requested that search dogs be brought by rescue teams in order to assist in locating anyone trapped beneath the wreckage.
In the hopes that the family would be saved before time ran out, supporters from Argentina and Venezuela watched his frantic search for days.
The Three-Day Search That Resulted in the Most Fearful News
After coming home, Trejo never left the neighborhood, according to TN. In Playa Grande, one of the communities most severely affected by the earthquakes, he collaborated with volunteers and rescue personnel as authorities searched the collapsed structure.
Trejo asked anyone with knowledge to come forward on social media in the early hours following the tragedy. As workers proceeded to clear rubble, he also asked authorities to send more rescue personnel, such as search dogs with specialized training.
The chances of discovering survivors dwindled with every hour that went by. Nevertheless, Trejo remained at the location until authorities verified that the search had ended tragically.
Many fans looked back to the family memories Trejo had shared before to the earthquakes while rescue workers combed through the debris; these posts quickly took on a completely different significance.
The Birthday Pictures That Now Have a Completely Different Meaning
Trejo shared what seemed to be a typical family celebration just weeks before the catastrophe.
He posted pictures of the couple grinning, posing with Aarón and Ainhoa, and enjoying her birthday cake on Instagram to commemorate Yanina’s birthday.My dear, happy birthday!Trejo wrote. “May God continue to grant your heart’s wishes and richly enrich your life. Having you and pursuing our shared goal together is a blessing for our family! Have the most amazing year of your life thus far, and let’s keep our eyes and hearts fixed on Jesus, knowing that great things are on the horizon.”
“I love you yesterday, today and always,” he said in a remark that has subsequently grown particularly painful.
One of the last family get-togethers was caught in the birthday pictures. However, Trejo posted another picture during the actual search, which surfaced just hours before authorities verified the devastating information.
The Family Portrait Trejo Posted Right Before Everything Changed While the hunt was ongoing, Trejo discreetly posted another family photo.
Trejo shared an Instagram Story of the family celebrating Yanina’s birthday just hours before authorities reported that his wife and kids had been located.
Aarón and Ainhoa are seen grinning next to Trejo and Yanina as they sit together on a couch in the picture. The family appeared to be having a happy evening together as they posed under a luminous restaurant sign while wearing synchronized light-colored attire.
The post seemed to be another treasured family memory at the time. In retrospect, it turned out to be one of the last pictures Trejo posted before finding out his wife and kids wouldn’t be returning.
Trejo’s First Words to His Mother Upon Coming Home
After witnessing the devastation for the first time, Trejo’s father disclosed what his son had said as rescue operations proceeded.
José Luis Trejo recalled the phone conversation Lucas made to his mother upon returning from Caracas in an interview with ElDoce.tv, another Argentine station.José Luis stated, “Lucas told his mother that it was devastating.” “He had to play soccer in Caracas, and when he came back, the building was lying on the ground, everything was collapsed.”
José Luis added that Yanina’s car was still in the building’s parking garage, confirming the family’s suspicion that she and the kids were inside when the structure collapsed.
After the Municipality of Córdoba assisted in arranging passports and airline tickets so they could accompany Lucas during the search, José Luis and another of his brothers had planned to travel to Venezuela before officials confirmed their deaths.
The Messages After the Tragic Termination of the Search
Tributes from friends, teammates, and clubs throughout Venezuela soon flowed in once the deaths were confirmed by the authorities.
In an Instagram post, Sport Marěimo de La Guaira made the announcement, expressing sympathy to Trejo and stating that rescue workers had been looking for his family for around 74 hours.
Deportivo La Guaira, another Venezuelan team, also posted a message on X expressing sympathy for Trejo and his family while joining in the grief of Yanina, Aarón, and Ainhoa.
According to People, Edson Alejandro Tortolero, a football player and family friend, initially announced the bodies’ recovery on Instagram Story.”We notify everyone in Argentina and Venezuela that the bodies of Lucas Trejo’s relatives have been discovered dead,” Tortolero stated in Spanish. “We appreciate everyone’s support and ask that his family be treated with the highest respect during this difficult time. We ask God to grant them eternal life. We also thank the athletes, pastors, family members, and other supporters who came to show their support.
Tortolero considered the family’s impact on his life in a different homage.He remarked, “The TREJO-MARANELLA family came into my life and my family’s life with the most beautiful purpose life could offer: to help me fall in love with God.” “We will be here looking after Lucas, just as he has looked after us since the day we met.”
“Hope and faith are the last things you should ever lose in life,” he said. We’ll get back up and keep going.”
What We Know About the Earthquakes That Affected Lucas Trejo’s Life
According to El País, two massive earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 slammed northern Venezuela at 6:05 p.m. local time on June 24. The villages of Yumare and Montalbán were the epicenter of the first earthquake, but only 39 seconds later, another earthquake occurred close to the same spot.
Although its magnitude was only 0.3 higher, the Richter scale is logarithmic, meaning the second quake unleashed approximately three times more energy than the first, wreaking massive havoc across northern Venezuela.
In the days that followed, rescue personnel from Venezuela and beyond hurried to the hardest-hit places, including La Guaira, where Trejo’s family had been confined.
Rescuers were still looking for survivors on Sunday, according to Reuters, and interim President Delcy Rodríguez stated that operations would go on if more individuals were rescued alive from the debris.
She also indicated that schools would stay closed for another week, while electricity had been restored to around 75% of La Guaira.
Authorities limited access to roads leading into the state in order to expedite emergency operations and improve the efficiency of rescue vehicles.
The scope of the catastrophe is still becoming apparent. The number of fatalities has increased to about 1,500, and over 51,000 people are still unaccounted for, according to Al Jazeera, which cited the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
After spending almost three days next to the debris, Trejo’s search came to a tragic conclusion. Following the earthquakes, he revealed a glimpse of his family life with Yanina, Aarón, and Ainhoa on Stories and Instagram.
