Santa Cruz county officials call off search for missing migrants
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Rescuers have called off the search for four illegal immigrants who are believed to have died when they were swept down a flooded tunnel connecting Nogales, Son., and Nogales, Ariz., early this morning.
Rescuers followed the wash about ten miles north of the border, but called off the search around 1:00 pm.
"If they are there, they are not alive," said Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada. "It's possible the bodies got stuck in the mud and could surface again during another storm. We've found people like that before."
On Wednesday, officials found the bodies of four other illegal immigrants who apparently died heat exposure, three in the desert west of Tucson and one near Sonoita.
At 5:30 this morning, U.S. Border Patrol spotted a large group of people clinging to the side of the flooded Grand Tunnel in Nogales after a heavy rain storm. Border Patrol pulled 34 people out of the tunnel with the assistance of other local law enforcement agencies.
Members of the group said another four people had been carried north, down the wash, said Juan Pablo Guzman, city of Nogales spokesman.
Illegal immigrants often use the tunnel, which covers a natural wash that can flood easily during the monsoon season, to enter the United States, said Estrada.
"They're not aware of the terrain here, the flash floods and danger, so they venture into the arroyos and attempt to cross over undetected."
Migrants might be using the tunnels more because of increased Border Patrol presence on land, Estrada said.
The last reported death in the wash occurred two years ago, on July 26, 2004, when a 32-year-old Mexican woman drowned, while her 12- and 14-year-old daughters survived, Guzman said.
On Wednesday, Border Patrol found the bodies of two men and two woman, said Border Patrol spokesman Jesus Rodriguez.
At 2:30 Wednesday morning, Border Patrol agents encountered a man near the village of Cowlic on the Tohono O'odham Nation who told them that his sister-in-law had fallen sick in the desert, Rodriguez said.
The man told the agents their smuggler had left the two behind.
Tohono O'odham police officers found the woman's body at 10 a.m.
Soon after, at 11:20 a.m., Border Patrol agents found another body on the reservation near the village of Hickiwan, east of Ajo, Rodriguez said.
At 7:35 a.m., Border Patrol agents found the decomposing body of a woman near Sierrita Mountain Road southeast of Three Points.
In Santa Cruz County, near Sonoita, a resident reported finding a dead body near Babocomari Ranch. The deceased was a Hispanic male in his mid-30s, Rodriguez said.
- Read All Comments » 4 TOTAL COMMENTS
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Joan S. (Original Joan)
Jul 28, 2006 @ 10:26amDoes the government of Mexico contribute to the cost of the search for the Mexican citizens? Do we send them a bill? -
Aaron K. (#2012)
Jul 28, 2006 @ 7:05amThe Mexican government, the Catholic Church and any other responsible institution in Mexico should be advertising the fact that it is extremely dangerous to attempt entry through the desert in the summer. This should be common knowledge to all potential crossers.
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Michael G. (#1591)
Jul 27, 2006 @ 8:43pmSick, DM.
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