// Texas Rangers and members of the Texas State Guard are beginning or are about to begin an effort in Brooks County near Falfurrias to help stop the climbing number of deaths related to human smuggling operations. Ranchers in the area reported a community partnership meeting where they were briefed on the proposed activities. This year, fifty-two people have been found dead in the arid ranch lands of Brooks County having gotten lost while attempting to bypass the Border Patrol checkpoint located thirteen miles south of Falfurrias.

“They are looking to mitigate the death’s that have been occurring on our ranches,” said an official with the South Texans’ Property Rights Association. “They will be in Brooks County to help the Border Patrol and the BORSTAR agents who have been working hard throughout our long, hot summer months.” The ranchers asked that search areas and other details about the operation not be disclosed at this time.

Officials with the Texas Department of Public Safety said they had no information to share at this time and would not confirm any on-going or planned operation. No information was available as to the timing of the effort, size and scope or duration was available.

Breitbart Texas learned that during a proof of concept test conducted a few weeks ago, a previously undiscovered body was found by search teams and three people were rescued that were wandering lost in the ranch lands. It appears to have been shortly after that test that a decision was made to move forward with the operation.

Breitbart Texas has reported extensively about the “death march” that has been on-going for quite some time. Texas Department of Public Safety reports that since 2011, at least 332 sets of human remains have been recovered in the ranches in Brooks County. The cost to the county has been staggering. With the responsibility of burying the remains at a cost of about $2,500 per body, county officials have been struggling to maintain its own law enforcement capabilities. So much so that the Brooks County Sheriff’s Office was down to an average of one deputy per shift to cover the nearly 1,000 square miles of the county that is being over-run with human smuggling related and gang related crimes.

Volunteer police officers who formed an organization known as the Border Brotherhood of Texas to provide additional reserve, non-paid deputies to supplement the Sheriff’s contingent of deputies. “These volunteers have made a huge difference in Brooks County,” said Chief Deputy Benny Martinez.

It is expected by the ranchers that the assistance from the State of Texas will also make a big difference in stopping the deaths of these people who have been crossing their ranches to avoid detection by Border Patrol.

Bob Price is a staff writer and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.