Illegal alien dies after falling from border fence near Sunland Park TX.
Dispatch records: Woman dies after falling from border fence near Sunland Park
Lauren Villagran, El Paso Times
Published 5:34 p.m. MT July 15, 2020 | Updated 12:34 p.m. MT July 16, 2020
An unidentified woman died after apparently falling from the border fence and suffering a head injury, according to U.S. Border Patrol and regional dispatch records.
Before 6 a.m. on July 8, border agents found a woman, her head bleeding, less than 20 feet north of the border wall near Sunland Park, New Mexico. She was unresponsive, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement.
https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2...unds&auto=webpBuy PhotoAn ICE hellicopter patrols the border between downtown and Mount Cristo Rey as asylum seekers continue to flow across the border. (Photo: Mark Lambie / El Paso Times)
"The woman’s breathing was labored and she was bleeding from her head," CBP said. "Agents took immediate action to triage, contact EMS, and render aid."
According to audio recordings obtained from Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch, dispatchers can be heard saying Border Patrol said a person "fell from the fence." The Sunland Park Fire Department responded, and an ambulance arrived.
"It’s going to be at Sunland Park, Anapra Cross," the dispatcher can be heard saying. "It’s Border Patrol that’s calling. Somebody fell from the fence.
They’re unresponsive. They are breathing."
The coordinates used by dispatchers — the corner of Anapra and Posey roads — lie farther afield, north of the railroad tracks that parallel the border.
But Sunland Park Police Chief Javier Guerra said that corner is the southernmost point of reference for first responders in the city, who recognize shorthand and responded to the strip of federal property south of the railroad tracks.
The Sunland Park Fire Department arrived, as did an ambulance. The woman was stabilized, placed on a stretcher and transported by ambulance to University Medical Center in El Paso, where she was pronounced dead by medical personnel.
https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2...unds&auto=webpBuy PhotoThe U.S. Border Patrol along with ICE trained Thursday along the border fence in Anapra. The training is preparation for any border surge that may occur. (Photo: Mark Lambie / El Paso Times)
Her body was turned over to the El Paso County Medical Examiner, according to a hospital spokesman.
The medical examiner is typically tasked with positively identifying the deceased and attempting to notify next of kin. A spokeswoman for the medical examiner didn't respond to multiple requests for comment.
A CBP spokesman said the agency never took the woman into custody and her identity, including her nationality, hadn't been established.
Agents tasked with working the area found "foot sign" near the border wall, according to Border Patrol spokeswoman Valeria Morales. An agent operating a mobile FLIR camera — an infrared camera that detects heat — helped locate the body on the ground.
The area is frequently a site of illegal crossings near the base of Mt. Cristo Rey. The 18-foot border fence comes to an end there, where the terrain turns uphill and rocky; it's not uncommon for migrants to walk around the fence.
But Morales said migrants continue to attempt to scale the fence in that area, following the instructions of unscrupulous coyotes.
"This is what the smugglers do, and they continue to do it," Morales.
This is a developing story.
Lauren Villagran can be reached at lvillagran@elpasotimes.com.
https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2020/07/15/unidentified-woman-suffers-head-injury-after-border-wall-fall-dies/5445754002/
