Man dies after jumping in canal to evade arrest by Border Patrol Agents
On June 14, 2024, at approximately 5:30 a.m., Border Patrol personnel monitoring remote cameras notified Border Patrol agents, via radio, of a group of possible undocumented noncitizens located approximately 3.15 miles east of the Rio Grande River and 17.5 miles northwest of the Eagle Pass Bridge Port of Entry in Eagle Pass, Texas.
At approximately 6:00 a.m., agents arrived in the area and began searching for the group. At approximately 7:51 a.m., agents located the group and apprehended four individuals who were determined to be undocumented noncitizens. Two other members of the group attempted to evade the agents by entering a nearby canal. As agents approached, the two individuals began swimming across the canal, which was approximately 60 feet wide. The agents reportedly observed that one of the individuals made it across the canal and absconded, but the second individual began to struggle halfway across the canal.
Agents asked the man to swim back toward them so they could pull him out of the water, but the man did not, and the agents reportedly could not reach him. The agents ultimately lost sight of him as he traveled downstream with the canal’s current. At approximately 7:53 a.m., the agents requested assistance from the Eagle Pass Fire Department, via radio. Fire department units arrived on scene at approximately 8:07 a.m. Agents and the fire department searched the area along the canal for approximately three hours but were unable to locate the man. Agents transported the other four individuals to the Del Rio Sector soft-sided facility for processing.
On the following day, June 15, 2024, Maverick County Sheriff’s Office personnel contacted Border Patrol and advised that a body had been recovered along the canal approximately 4.7 miles downstream from the location where the agents had lost sight of the man. Sheriff’s office personnel also advised agents that an adult male citizen of Guatemala surrendered himself to deputies near the scene of the recovered body and was seeking help. Agents responded to the scene, took custody of the man, and transported him to the Del Rio Sector soft-sided facility.
On June 15, 2024, CBP Office of Professional Responsibility Special Agents interviewed the Guatemalan man at the soft-sided facility. The man confirmed that he was present for the incident that took place along the canal the day before and told the OPR special agents that the decedent, who he did not know well, had been guiding the group with which he was traveling. The group was hiding in the brush when the guide alerted the group to the arrival of immigration officers and instructed them to run. The man stated that he followed the guide, and they ultimately came upon a canal. They began swimming across the canal, and as he reached the other side, he heard the guide yell that he was drowning and that he needed help. The man stated that he heard the agents calling to the guide and motioning for him to return so that they could aid him. The man stated that he did not remain in the area long and ultimately decided to turn himself in the following day. The man’s description of the guide matched the body recovered from the canal. CBP was unable to identify the decedent.
Sheriff’s office personnel turned over the decedent to the Webb County Medical Examiner. The local justice of the peace determined no autopsy was necessary due to the apparent circumstances of death.
CBP Office of Professional Responsibility is reviewing the incident. The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General was notified.