Thread: TX - Border Patrol: 8 immigrants rescued, 3 found dead over weekend

Posted: Tuesday, February 26, 2013 9:25 pm

Jacqueline Armendariz | The Monitor


EDINBURG — The U.S. Border Patrol reported agents rescued eight illegal immigrants and found three dead during the past weekend.

Near Havana, agents patrolling by boat found four people struggling to stay afloat in the Rio Grande as they tried to swim back to Mexico, the agency said in a news release. While agents were able to help three of them make it to shore, they were unable to locate the fourth man.

In three different instances near the Border Patrol’s Falfurrias checkpoint agents rescued five other people.

Friday, the remains of three people were founds by agents — one found in the river south of Hidalgo and the other two on ranches in the Kingsville and Falfurrias areas.

Border Patrol reported agents have rescued nearly 260 immigrants and found 60 dead since October, a dramatic increase compared to the same time last year, the agency said in a news release.

The agency warned immigrants again of the predatory nature of human smugglers and the natural dangers, such as extreme heat, that they face when traveling through rural South Texas in order to avoid authorities.

Border Patrol: 8 immigrants rescued, 3 found dead over weekend - The Monitor: Local News

United States Border Patrol Sector Profiles FY2012 http://1.usa.gov/WXhrPX