EDINBURG, Texas – Within 12-hours, Rio Grande Valley Sector (RGV) Border Patrol agents rescued a female in distress with her father, disrupted two migrant smuggling events, and seized abandoned marijuana.
On August 17, the Rio Grande City Border Patrol Station (RGC) received a call for assistance from two lost noncitizens north of Rio Grande City. The caller advised he was travelling with his daughter. Agents responded to the area and encountered the man and his daughter who was unconscious, convulsing, and suffering from dehydration and in an altered mental state. Agents immediately requested Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and carried the female approximately half a mile to an area accessible by vehicle. EMS arrived and transported her to a hospital where she tested positive for Covid-19 and is being treated.
Also on August 17, Brownsville Border Patrol Agents observed several subjects running north from the Rio Grande River and shortly after, a vehicle departing the well-known migrant load up area. The vehicle came to a stop, where multiple subjects bailed out and fled. Agents apprehended five migrants unlawfully in the U.S., but the driver absconded.
Later that night, RGC agents were led on a vehicle pursuit in Escobares. When the vehicle came to a stop, approximately 11 subjects bailed out and attempted to flee into a neighborhood. Agents apprehended seven migrants, but the driver was not located.
Early this morning, Fort Brown Border Patrol Station agents responded to illicit activity near the Rio Grande in Brownsville. Agents followed shoe prints away from the river until they discovered two abandoned bundles of marijuana. As they searched the area, they observed three suspected drug smugglers returning to Mexico. The seized marijuana weighed almost a hundred pounds and is valued at almost $80,000.
All subjects were processed accordingly.
With the extreme heat south Texas is experiencing, individuals lost or left behind in desolate areas are at risk of dehydration, heat stroke, and death. RGV urges migrants not to place their lives at risk attempting to cross illegally.
Please visit www.cbp.gov to view additional news releases and other information pertaining to Customs and Border Protection. Follow us on Twitter @CBPRGV and @USBPChiefRGV.