Mexican authorities found the body of an Angolan migrant child who went missing on May 2 during an illegal border crossing near the Del Rio International Bridge. The young boy disappeared after being swept away along with his brother. The parents survived the crossing.
Del Rio Station Border Patrol agents encountered an Angolan couple who illegally crossed the border from Mexico into Texas. The husband and wife informed the agents that their two boys, ages seven and nine, were swept away in the strong currents of the Rio Grande, according to information obtained from Del Rio Sector Border Patrol officials.
A Del Rio Sector marine unit began a search of the area while officials in the Foreign Operations Branch contacted Mexican authorities to coordinate the search effort. The search did not lead to a rescue of the two missing boys.
Three days later, Mexican authorities found the body of a child matching the description provided by the Angolan parents. They found the child on the Mexican bank of the Rio Grande. The search also led to the discovery of an adult male in the same area.
The search continues for the other remaining child, officials stated.
Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens tweeted photos of agents training Texas National Guard soldiers in the use of throw bags to help prevent additional drownings. The chief added that high water levels and swift currents make the illegal crossings dangerous and warned against these illegal border crossings.
On the same day the two children went missing, a 38-year-old Nicaraguan migrant drowned while crossing the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, Breitbart’s Randy Clark reported. The drowning took place as onlookers watched. Fox News captured the drowning on video.
Breitbart Texas reached out to Border Patrol officials to get information on the number of drownings occurring in this section. The agency refuses to release the numbers. A source within the agency told Breitbart there were nine drownings in a single week in April. The source stated the number of drownings continues to rise as the number of migrants attempting to cross increases and the swift currents and rising waters continue.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.