Three Tender-Age Migrant Children Found Abandoned on Remote Texas Ranch near Border

Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents found three tender-age children abandoned on remote ranchlands near the Texas border with Mexico. Elsewhere in Texas, Kingsville Station agents found a juvenile who was reported missing.

Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens tweeted photos of three young children who were abandoned by human smugglers in “austere and remote ranchlands.” The agents were the first to find the abandoned children.

“Smugglers have no regard for human life, including children,” Chief Owens stated. “Our agents were the first people these children saw upon their rescue.”

Elsewhere in Texas, Rio Grande Valley Sector agents patrolling near the Javier Vega, Jr. Checkpoint on U.S. Highway 77 stopped an SUV attempting to circumvent the checkpoint. The agents identified the driver and an occupant as U.S. citizens, according to a statement released by Rio Grande Valley Sector officials.

During an investigation, agents found and seized more than $64,000 in U.S. currency. While conducting identification checks on the two people in the vehicle, agents discovered that one of the occupants is a juvenile who is reported to be missing on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children database.

Agents seized the cash and the vehicle and turned the child over to Kenedy County Sheriff’s Office deputies. The deputies turned the missing child over to Texas Juvenile Probation Office officials.

“Very proud of our Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents, who through their diligent work encountered a missing juvenile, further avoiding risk to her life and safety,” RGV Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez said in the written statement.