Migrant Infant, 3 Adults Drowned While Crossing Border River into Texas

Texas Department of Public Safety troopers recovered the bodies of four migrants from the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass. The drowning victims included an infant who was carried into the border river. The drownings occurred in three separate incidents over a 48-hour period.

Texas DPS spokesman Lt. Chris Olivarez tweeted a report regarding the drowning deaths of four migrants during a 48-hour timespan over the Independence Day weekend.

In the past 48 hours, the @TxDPS Tactical Marine Unit (TMU) recovered 4 deceased bodies including an infant from the Rio Grande River in #EaglePass.

7/1/23 – #USBP requested assistance regarding a possible infant drowning. TMU Operators & @MyFWC deployed 2 airboats & observed… pic.twitter.com/cjxoEPDbSj

— Chris Olivarez (@LtChrisOlivarez) July 3, 2023

Texas Marine Unit teams patrolling the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass under Governor Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star recovered four drowning victims on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents requested assistance from DPS Tactical Marine Unit (TMU) teams regarding the possible drowning of an infant-age migrant. Olivarez reported the troopers, along with Florida Fish and Wildlife wardens observed “multiple bodies floating along the river.”
The TMU operators pulled the four migrants from the river and observed a woman and a female infant to be unresponsive. The team immediately began CPR to attempt to save the two migrants’ lives.

The operators transferred the victims to EMS teams who transported them to the Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center. Doctors pronounced the woman and the baby girl to be deceased.

The operators turned the two surviving migrants over to Eagle Pass Station Border Patrol agents for processing, Olivarez stated.

On Sunday, TMU operators recovered the body of another drowned male migrant. A fourth drowning victim, a female migrant, was also recovered on Monday, the report concludes.

Olivarez said none of the deceased migrants had identification documents.