Watch CBS News

Mother Tells US Border Patrol She 'Lost' Toddler Crossing Rio Grande

DEL RIO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — U.S. Border Patrol agents are searching for a missing 2-year-old girl in the Rio Grande near the Texas town of Del Rio. According to a news release on Tuesday, agents from the Del Rio Border Patrol Station detained a woman from Haiti shortly after she crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico. The woman told agents she had lost her daughter while crossing the river.

Higher-than-average snowfall in the Rocky Mountains is sending more water into the Rio Grande and adjacent canals, creating deceptively swift waters. Border agents say they are rescuing immigrants from the river on an almost daily basis.

A migrant father and his 23-month-old daughter recently drowned while trying to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico to enter the United States without legal permission.

Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez, and his daughter Valeria were headed for a new life in Irving.

They were swept away by the current near Matamoros, Mexico and Brownsville.

A grim photo showing Valeria tucked inside Ramírez's shirt for protection with her arm draped over his neck — sparked international outrage.

 

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.