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April 25, 2007, 9:50PM
Border Patrol aircraft crashes on remote ranch


© 2007 The Associated Press

SAN MANUEL, Texas — A Border Patrol agent flying above the region in search of illegal immigrants was killed Wednesday when his plane crashed, officials said.

Clint Thrasher, 32, died at the crash site on a ranch about 15 miles north of San Manuel, Border Patrol spokesman Oscar Saldana said. Thrasher, who lived in McAllen, had been with the agency 10 years.

Authorities were still investigating why the plane crashed, Saldana said. Border Patrol helicopters and planes regularly patrol ranch land.

"He lost his life in a tragic aircraft accident while protecting our country and preserving our way of life," Lynne M. Underdown, chief patrol agent of the Rio Grande Valley Sector, said in a statement.

The Cessna 182 took off between 6 and 7 a.m. from McAllen-Miller International Airport, according to Phil Brown, the airport's director of aviation.

San Manuel is about 220 miles south of San Antonio.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/4749736.html