Migrant's Skeletal Remains Found on Texas Ranch 80 Miles from Border

A Texas sheriff’s deputy recovered the skeletal remains of a migrant who apparently died on a ranch while attempting to circumvent the immigration checkpoint in Brooks County.

Brooks County Sheriff’s Office dispatchers received information about the discovery of the partial skeletal remains on a ranch located near the Falfurrias Border Patrol Checkpoint. Deputy Luis Reyes met with ranch hands who took him by four-wheeled vehicle 1.5 miles onto the property.

At the scene, Deputy Reyes observed a partial human skull with vegetation growing from inside. Due to the terrain, the justice of the peace could not be present to make a statutory death proclamation and authorized the deputy to remove the remains.

A search of the area found no additional bone fragments. The deputy also did not find any articles of clothing or identifying documents.

Deputy Reyes transported the skull back to the sheriff’s office where the justice of the peace made the proclamation of death.

Brooks County Sheriff’s deputies will arrange for transportation of the remains to the Webb County Medical Examiner’s office where Dr. Corinne Stern will attempt to identify the deceased migrant.

This incident marks the 42nd time deputies in Brooks County have recovered the remains of deceased migrants who appear to have died while attempting to circumvent the checkpoint.

Brooks County Sheriff Benny Martinez told Breitbart Texas that his deputies frequently must recover the remains of migrants abandoned on the ranches by their human smugglers.

So far this year, at least 344 migrants died while or shortly after illegally crossing the border from Mexico into the U.S., according to the International Organization for Migration’s Missing Migrants Project. More than 200 of those deaths occurred in Texas — 42 in Brooks County alone.