Thread: Migrants carry body to border agents; week's toll is 9

Migrants carry body to border agents; week's toll is 9
The Tucson Citizen
Jul. 8, 2007 08:57 AM

TUCSON - Four more bodies have been found in the desert, increasing the toll to eight suspected illegal immigrants who died crossing the desert since Monday, a U.S. Border Patrol spokesman said Friday.

The death count is not out of the ordinary, especially with desert temperatures topping 100 degrees this month.

"One a day, unfortunately, this time of year is not high," said Border Patrol Agent Sean King, a Tucson-based Border Patrol spokesman. The largest death toll King recalled was the week of July 6-13, 2005. "We had 27; that was a high," he said.





The most recent bodies were discovered Friday.v The Pima County Sheriff's Department came across human skeletal remains around 10 a.m. near Sasabe Highway at milepost 9.

"Severely decomposed," said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. James Ogden, adding they could determine neither the age nor gender of the victim.

Around 11:05 a.m., Border Patrol agents found a woman near State Route 286, King said.

King said the identification she carried listed her as 29 years old, but that's all he disclosed on Friday.

Thursday's two victims were a man and a woman, King said. In the first case, a man stumbled out of the desert about 4:45 p.m. onto Arivaca Road near Interstate 19, where he flagged down a Border Patrol agent and said he had left his brother in distress in the desert to seek help, King said.

Agents searched and found the brother, a 33-year-old from Oaxaca, Mexico, dead about a half-mile north of the road, King said.

In the second case, Border Patrol agents came across a group of more than a dozen suspected illegal immigrants at about 9:20 p.m. near Vamori, some 10 miles south of Sells on the Tohono O'odham Nation, King said.

Group members told the agents they had been trekking north through the desert since about 9 a.m. and that the woman had become ill and could not continue walking.

The group's guide went in search of water, King said, adding that when the guide returned, the woman still was too ill to go on. The woman's husband stayed with her until she died about 4:30 p.m., King said.

Group members fashioned a litter and carried the body of the 37-year-old Michoacan, Mexico, woman to where Border Patrol agents found the group, King said.

The group members have agreed to waive their rights to deportation proceedings and voluntarily return to Mexico, King said, adding the widower is being released to the custody of the Mexican Consulate to help arrange the return of his wife's body to their homeland.

The brother of the 33-year-old also has been released to the Mexican Consulate's custody to help arrange for the return of his brother's remains to Mexico.

This week:

- Wednesday, an animal research from Colorado found the skeletal remains believed to be those of an illegal immigrant in the desert.

- Tuesday, agents found the bodies two men: one a 24-year-old from Vera Cruz; the other has yet to be identified.

- Monday, the body of a 26-year-old Mexican woman was found, Border Patrol and Pima County sheriff's authorities said.


http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... aths.html#

Why do illegals try to cross now? They know the dangers and must take responsiblity for their actions. Mexico should be patrolling the borders to ensure that their people do not endanger themselves. Don't blame america for mistreating your people when you have done nothing to prevent them crossing nor done anything to improve their lifes so they will not want to cross the border.

Personally, I think the ones who attempt the desert rather than other places have reasons.

I think they are either drug dealers, carriers, maybe criminals, - or worse, etc.

There are so many other places to cross - why take the desert unless you have more to be concerned about than just being caught by the BP as an illegal crosser? What happens when you get caught just crossing - you get sent home and can cross again.

TUCSON - Four more bodies have been found in the desert, increasing the toll to eight suspected illegal immigrants who died crossing the desert since Monday, a U.S. Border Patrol spokesman said Friday.

That's what they get for attempting to break into our country. I don't feel a bit sorry for them.

I think they are throwing them out of the country and telling them if they come back they will kill there kids and family.

Build the fence....save lives.

Personally, I think they are criminals that have either been let out of prison or get the choice of leaving or face prison.

Or maybe drug dealers -

There is no reason for them to risk their lives just to get across that border.

I agree that something doesn't sound right about the number of illegals crossing this time of year.

They know the climate, are fully aware of the harsh realities, and have so many other months out of the year to try it.....why would so many choose the worst time of the year? They are not that damned desperate that they couldn't wait it out a couple of months.