http://www.palmbeachpost.com

Second body linked to immigrant smuggling
By Jill Taylor

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Friday, August 18, 2006

JUPITER ISLAND — The body of a man that washed up in the surf off southern Martin County on Thursday afternoon is thought to be connected to a group of undocumented immigrants who were apparently dropped offshore the day before.

The body was discovered by a survey crew working behind a home on South Beach Road, several miles north of where the Haitian immigrants say they were forced off a boat 25 to 50 yards offshore early Wednesday.

A woman's body found Wednesday in the ocean off the Jupiter Inlet was identified by Palm Beach County sheriff's officials Thursday as Roselyne Lubin, 26. She reportedly had relatives in the Fort Lauderdale area and had been deported once before when she tried to reach the United States from the Bahamas.

Palm Beach County officials were not certain whether she was a native of Haiti or the Bahamas.

Her death is under investigation as a homicide after reports from other passengers who made it to shore that the captain of the smuggling boat and a crew member forced people off the boat, some reluctantly, and told them to swim to land.

The black man found on Jupiter Island had not been identified Thursday afternoon, and an autopsy will be performed to determine how and when he died. He was wearing a shirt but no pants, prompting speculation he kicked them off while struggling in the water.

"It looked like he had been dead for some period of time. At least 24 hours," Jupiter Island Police Chief William Mason said.

Authorities in Martin and Palm Beach counties caught seven people who said they paid to come across the ocean on a boat with a two-man crew. Officials believe at least two others got away when they got to shore, and the boat captain and his crew mate have not been caught.

They weren't certain how many immigrants were on the boat or whether any other victims could be found in the ocean.

The violent crimes task force in Palm Beach County is planning to put together a human smuggling task force to combat the problem of the illegal and dangerous crossings.

"We have to do something to try to stop this, otherwise it's just going to continue," Palm Beach County sheriff's Lt. Michael Wallace said.

Aside from that, he said authorities need to look at the big picture: homeland security.

"We'd be foolish not to look at that," Wallace said. "If you see a pipeline for human smuggling and drugs, why would they not be able to bring in not only terrorists, but weapons of mass destruction?"

The next step for the task force is to start talking with federal and state officials and their Martin County counterparts. "Right now we're just taking baby steps," Wallace said.

Investigators on Wednesday also found at least nine packages of carefully wrapped cocaine on the beach and in the surf, and one of the men captured was turned over to Drug Enforcement Administration officials as part of their investigation.

Landings of undocumented immigrants are not uncommon along Martin County's barrier islands and there have been several deaths over the years, including the drownings of two young boys found on Hutchinson Island along with two adult bodies in 1994.