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The shocking image captured Monday was a grim reminder of the dangerous journey migrants take to get to the United States.
The pair from El Salvador drowned Sunday in the Rio Grande as they were crossing from Mexico into Texas near Brownsville. They actually had made it to the Texas side initially, and Martinez placed his child there before turning around to get his wife, a journalist says.
But when Angie Valeria saw her father swimming away, she jumped in after him, according to Julia Le Duc, the photographer who captured the image of the pair.
The father clung to the little girl in red pants and black shoes, but a strong current swept over and drowned them, Le Duc wrote for Mexican newspaper La Jornada.
The newspaper talked to the man's widow, Tania, who said she saw her husband and child carried away Sunday. Their bodies were found Monday on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande, near Matamoros, across the river from Brownsville.
They were waiting for asylum
The family had been in a migrant camp in Matamoros since Sunday, hoping for an appointment to receive political asylum from the US, the newspaper said, citing Martinez's wife.
They'd been in Mexico for two months in the scorching heat -- temperatures climbed to 113 degrees Fahrenheit at times -- and the family decided to cross the river out of desperation, La Jornada reported. The victim's wife said they had obtained a humanitarian visa from the Mexican government.
Salvadoran officials warn residents
The two deaths promoted Salvadoran Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexandra Hill to beg citizens to stay in the country and work with the government as it tries to resolve the economic issues that push so many to leave.
"Our country is in mourning, again," she said. "I beg you, to all the families, parents, don't risk it. Life is worth a lot more."
Hill said the government is working with Mexican authorities to repatriate the remains.
El Salvador's newly elected President Nayib Bukele said the government would help the family financially.
Reactions from presidential candidates
As news of the image spread, presidential candidates blamed the deaths on the administration.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris called the situation "inhumane."
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke said "Trump is responsible for these deaths."
A previous version of this story indicated the family had been at a migrant camp in Matamoros for two months. In fact, they were in Mexico for two months but arrived at Matamoros Sunday.
CNN's Natalie Gallón reported from Mexico City, and Steve Almasy and Christina Maxouris wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Ana Melgar, Andrea Diaz and Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report.