Thread: Arpaio: Border crossers are embarking on death march

Posted: Aug 15, 2013 1:34 PM PST Updated: Aug 15, 2013 1:41 PM PST
By Phil Benson

PHOENIX (CBS5) -

Alarmed by the rising number of bodies found in the desert, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says his office will place crosses where victims are found, as a deterrent to desert crossers.


The crosses were made by Arpaio's Tent City inmates. (Source: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office)

The sheriff's Tent City Jail inmates recently constructed the wooden crosses, which will aid those in danger and who call 911 for help. The crosses will be numbered and will be GPS sensitive.

Sheriff's deputies have investigated 14 deaths since June in and around Gila Bend.

"Desert crossers are dying in unknown numbers due to the desert's brutal conditions and excessively high temperatures," said Arpaio.

More than 30 people have been rescued from the same area this summer, Arpaio noted.

In the past four days, sheriff's deputies found another four bodies in the desert near Gila Bend. Two were discovered on Saturday and two on Tuesday.

Arpaio said two men were rescued from the desert this week. Both of them were suffering from heat-related illnesses, which required medical attention.

"I have directed my staff to track the time and resources spent on these mercy missions," Arpaio said. "The federal government's failure to secure the border should be a charge paid for by that government, not laid at the feet of Maricopa County taxpayers."

"If the Federal Government, for whatever reason, cannot secure our borders, it should be their responsibility, and not Arizona taxpayers, to pay for these rescues," Arpaio said.

Deputies said they also found remains of a human skull, linked to a body found in the desert last summer.

http://www.kpho.com/story/23149652/a...on-death-march

Posted on: 8:18 am, September 1, 2013, by Staff Writer
fox2now.com



MCSO: 15th body since June found in AZ desert

Phoenix (KPHO) — Another body of an apparent border crosser was found in the desert Sunday off Interstate 8 in Gila Bend, Maricopa County sheriff’s detectives said.

Alarmed by the rising number of bodies found in the desert, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says his office will place crosses where victims are found, as a deterrent to desert crossers.

The sheriff’s Tent City Jail inmates recently constructed the wooden crosses, which will aid those in danger and who call 911 for help. The crosses will be numbered and will be GPS sensitive.

The location is less than one mile away from where other bodies were found last week.

Sheriff’s detectives said the victim was not carrying any identification and died from “the harsh desert elements.”

MCSO has investigated five deaths in the past 10 days, making it a total of 15 body discoveries since June in an area known for human trafficking.

Sheriff’s deputies have been involved in more than 30 rescues in the same area this summer.

On Aug. 15, Sheriff Joe Arpaio held a news briefing where he displayed 45 crosses in the desert to send a message urging people not to attempt a desert crossing.

“Cross No. 1 will be placed in the desert today as a reminder not to cross the desert,” said Arpaio.

Arpaio said his deputies plan to place crosses made by Tent City Jail inmates in the areas where bodies are found.

All the crosses placed will be numbered and have GPS coordinates linked to those numbers which will assist sheriff’s deputies in locating future border crossers who call 911 for help.

By Phil Benson

http://fox2now.com/2013/09/01/sherif...sert-crossers/