An Oregon family is facing unimaginable grief after a 39-year-old father died suddenly during a flight home from South America.
Andres Castro, of Clackamas, was returning from a birthday trip to Bolivia with his wife, Suanny, when he “suddenly stopped breathing” mid-flight.
The couple had been visiting Suanny's family and celebrating their birthdays together when tragedy struck during their return to the US on Monday, August 25.
The plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Colombia, where emergency crews rushed Castro to a hospital. “Despite being rushed to the hospital, it was too late,” his brother Teo Ramirez wrote on a GoFundMe page set up to help cover costs.
He added that it had been determined that Castro had suffered a sudden heart attack.
The family is now facing the overwhelming task of repatriating his body to Oregon. “We’re stretched thin and our focus is bringing my brother’s body back to Oregon,” Ramirez said.
The cost of preparing and transporting Castro’s remains, along with arranging a funeral, is estimated at $25,000. “This is not a grief we ever imagined facing so soon,” Ramirez added.
Castro leaves behind his wife, their son AJ, his siblings, and his parents. “It’s a process with the embassy and my family,” his sister, Tiffany Castro, told KOIN. “We’re all just trying to work together to figure it out.”
Tiffany described her brother as someone who brought laughter and joy to their time together. “Every time we were together he was just so funny,” she said. Reflecting on the sudden loss, she added: “I feel broken, our whole family, it’s hard, trying to keep it together the best that we can.”
Castro’s body remains in Colombia while the family navigates the process with officials. “It’s just hard to believe that he’s not here,” Tiffany said. “That’s all.”
According to the grieving brother, the family has also been caring for their mother, who began experiencing heart failure in April.
The GoFundMe campaign, launched on Monday, has raised $16,091 of the $25,000 goal as of this writing.
In an update shared on Wednesday (August 27), Ramirez revealed that the family has reached out to Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), whose office is working with them and the US embassy in Colombia to assist with arrangements and ensure Castro receives a proper funeral.
“We put our trust in God and know that He will provide a path forward,” he wrote. “He always makes a way," adding: “From the bottom of our hearts, thank you again for walking alongside us in this difficult journey.”