Eagle Pass Border Patrol Resolves Amber Alert

EAGLE PASS, Texas – A National Guardsman, assigned to the Eagle Pass Border Patrol Station, was instrumental in the safe return of a 3-year-old child, who was reportedly taken from his mother in Mexico.

“This incident clearly illustrates the effectiveness of having our National Guard partners assisting agents in a variety of essential roles,” said Chief Patrol Agent Felix Chavez, Del Rio Sector. “We are fortunate to have skilled National Guard personnel deployed here to augment the Border Patrol mission.”

Shortly before 8 a.m., May 31, agents at Border Patrol’s Eagle Pass Station received an Amber Alert, issued by state of Coahuila, Mexico. The Amber Alert noted that the boy’s mother reported he had been taken from Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico by his non-custodial father, and was possibly in danger. At approximately 10 a.m., Sgt. Javier Olmos, Texas National Guard, was monitoring transmissions from camera towers near the Eagle Pass Port of Entry when he spotted a man and child, who had crossed the Rio Grande River. Agents were dispatched to the area and took both into custody.

“I started to scan the area with the camera system and saw them walking across the golf course,” Olmos said. “At the time, I didn’t know they were the subjects in the Amber Alert. We got the news that this was the child in the alert after they were processed.”

The 28-year-old Honduran man was processed according to CBP guidelines. The 3-year-old boy was turned over to the Mexican Consulate and reunited with his mother in Mexico.

Sgt. Olmos is among approximately 100 National Guard Personnel deployed to the Del Rio Border Patrol Sector as part of Operation Guardian Support, which began April 12. A 10-year veteran of the Texas National Guard, Olmos is a police officer in civilian life. He has been a member of the El Paso Police Department for four months.

Earlier that morning, Sgt. Olmos had alerted Border Patrol agents to another significant subject who had entered the country illegally. In that incident, a Honduran man, previously deported following a 2011 conviction, in Utah, for aggravated sexual abuse of a child, was apprehended after Olmos spotted him while observing camera system transmission.

Since the deployment of Operation Guardian Support, National Guard personnel assisting Del Rio Sector Border Patrol have been instrumental in approximately 400 apprehensions. While National Guard personnel do not perform law enforcement activities, come into contact with immigrants, or carry weapons, they perform a variety of tasks, allowing agents to focus their efforts on border enforcement.