Three More Migrant Bodies Found near Texas Border

Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents discovered the bodies of three deceased migrants over the past weekend who apparently attempted to or illegally crossed the border. Two were found in the Rio Grande and a third on a ranch in Kenedy County — about 60 miles inland.

A U.S. Coast Guard riverine unit assigned to assist Border Patrol agents in securing the Rio Grande encountered a deceased person in the river near Havana, Texas, on Thursday, according to Rio Grande Valley Sector officials. Crews from the La Joya Fire Department assisted in the recovery of what appeared to be a migrant illegally crossing the border from Mexico.

Two days later, another Coast Guard riverine unit patrolling the Rio Grande near Mission, Texas, encountered another deceased migrant. Guardsmen contacted the Mission Fire Department who responded and assisted with the body recovery.

A local justice of the peace responded to each scene and made the statutory declaration of death and ordered the bodies to be sent to the county morgue for autopsy and identification, officials stated.

Kingsville Station Border Patrol agents patrolling the ranchlands in Kenedy County encountered yet another deceased migrant on Sunday, officials reported. The agents contacted the Kenedy County Sheriff’s Office who responded to take custody of the remains. A local justice of the peace made the statutory declaration of death and order the body transported to the medical examiner’s office for an autopsy and identification.

In neighboring Brooks County, officials reported this week on the recovery of three more deceased migrants bringing the total migrant deaths for that single county to 33, Breitbart Texas reported.

So far this year, at least 65 migrants have died while crossing or shortly after crossing the border in the Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector, according to the International Organization for Migration’s Migrants Project.