Air Interdiction Agent (AIA) Clinton B. Thrasher, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine pilot, was killed when his Cessna 182 crashed while providing air support to Border Patrol agents conducting ground operations Wednesday, April 25, 2007.
AIA Thrasher began his federal career when he entered on duty with Class 342 of the Border Patrol Academy. As a Border Patrol Agent, he was first assigned to Rio Grande City, Texas, in 1997. He joined CBP Air and Marine in 2003 as a pilot and was stationed at the Caribbean Air Branch in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. He transferred to the Rio Grande Valley Air and Marine Branch in McAllen, Texas in August of 2006.
AIA Clinton Thrasher is survived by his wife, Rachelle, and two daughters: Addalyn, age 7, and Ann Marie, age 1 and his parents, Charles and Jane Thrasher.
"The loss of Agent Thrasher is a stark reminder of the risks our frontline employees accept each day as they work to secure our nation," Commissioner Basham said.