Brooks County Sheriff’s Office officials recovered the mostly destroyed remains of a migrant who was likely abandoned by human smugglers on a ranch located about 80 miles north of the Mexican border. The recovery marks the 35th of the year for this south Texas county.
Dispatchers with the Brooks County Sheriff’s Office sent Deputy Samuel Rosas to a ranch located slightly southwest of the Falfurrias Border Patrol Checkpoint located on U.S. Highway 281 between McAllen and Houston. When Deputy Rosas arrived, a Border Patrol agent escorted him and the funeral home director approximately eight miles into the ranch.
Brooks County Sheriff’s Office officials recover the body of a deceased migrant in the southeast part of the county. (Photo: Brooks County Sheriff’s Office/Deputy Samuel Rosas)
This part of the county is a well-known dropping spot for human smugglers attempting to move their “cargo” around the Border Patrol checkpoint. The terrain consists of soft sand that makes the march feel longer and provides a greater opportunity for injury due to twisted knees and ankles. “If a migrant cannot keep up with the group for any reason, the smugglers simply leave them behind to die,” Brooks County Sheriff Benny Martinez told Breitbart Texas in a phone interview. “These callous human smugglers have no regard for the lives of the people they are paid to move around the checkpoint.”
When the deputy arrived on the scene of the death, he observed the mostly skeletal remains that had been ripped apart by animals. Deputy Rosas photographed and gathered the remains into a body bag for transportation.
Officials recover the lower extremities of a migrant who died on a ranch in Brooks County, Texas. (Photo: Brooks County Sheriff’s Office/Deputy Samuel Rosas)
A pair of pants with one leg and foot still attached and the other femur were found in the area. The deputy also recovered a partially eaten torso along with a variety of bones that were separated from the body.
Officials recover what appears to be the partially eaten torso of a migrant who died on a ranch in Brooks County, Texas. (Photo: Brooks County Sheriff’s Office/Deputy Samuel Rosas)
The deputy also found a Honduran identification card belonging to Jorge Issai Acuna Lopez, 25. It is not known if this is the identity of the deceased migrant.
The death marks the 35th of the year in Brooks County. This accounts for nearly 20 percent of the more than 180 migrants found dead while or shortly after crossing the Mexican border into Texas, and more than 10 percent of all migrant deaths along the entire U.S.-Mexico Border.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.