Human Smuggler Abandons 9-Year-Old In The Brush Near Southern Border
EDINBURG, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – A nine-year old boy was one of several migrants saved by border patrol agents at the Texas--Mexico border this week.
The man trying to smuggle the boy (who's from El Salvador) into the U.S. abandoned him in the brush. The child's brother called the Falfurrias Border Patrol Station on August 28 asking for help. He gave agents coordinates to where the boy wae. They were immediately dispatched to search the area. Within an hour, agents were able to locate the Salvadoran child who was found with his mother. The subjects were taken to the Falfurrias Border Patrol Station for medical assessment.
The day before, Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector agents work alongside law enforcement partners discovered a couple other migrants placed in life threatening situations by smugglers.
Friday evening, agents were advised of two people running from the Rio Grande toward an awaiting car in Roma. A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper responded to the activity and encountered the car driving erratically through a neighborhood. As the trooper approached the suspect car, a woman jumped out of the moving vehicle. Moments later, another person was seen exiting the vehicle and absconded into the nearby area. The car finally came to a stop near Matamoros Avenue. The driver, a U.S. Citizen, admitted he was on federal probation for narcotic and human smuggling. EMS was requested for the woman who injured herself jumping out of the car. Agents reported that she lost consciousness during her medical evaluation. The Guatemalan national was transported to the hospital where she was treated for a leg injury. Law enforcement officials never found the other person who took off.
Later that morning, a U.S. Coast Guard riverine unit patrolling the Rio Grande near La Joya, encountered a raft with three people in the middle of the river. The smugglers on the Mexican riverbanks started pulling the raft back causing the migrants to fall overboard. Two of them were able to arrive safely on the U.S. riverbank, however, one individual immediately began to submerge and yell for help. The Coast Guard crewmen successfully retrieved the distressed migrant and ferried him to shore where awaiting agents evaluated him.
Sunday morning, a Coast Guard riverine unit patrolling the Rio Grande near Mission, encountered a man struggling to hold onto a log in the middle of the river. He was attempting to use his shirt filled with water bottles to stay afloat. The Coast Guard vessel commander was able to position the vessel close enough to quickly pull him on board to safety. The Mexican national was transported to a boat dock in Mission, where he was medically assessed by Border Patrol agents.
