A young woman died in a West Texas desert after entering the U.S. unlawfully with her family.
The woman’s parents were apprehended near U.S. Highway 90 following an encounter with the National Guard. The unlawful migrants asked officials to search for their daughter in the area where they had last seen her.
It is unclear how the woman became separated from her family, though the U.S. Customs and Border Protection release said the parents had abandoned her.
The Terrell County Sheriff’s Office submitted the request to agents in the Big Bend Sector, who patrol the 517 miles of the southwest border from Sierra Blanca, Texas, to Sanderson, Texas.
Agents from Sanderson Station were dispatched to rescue the missing woman.
Big Bend Sector Chief Patrol Agent Sean L. McGoffin said his agency and multiple West Texas law enforcement agencies responded to the parents’ request to locate their daughter.
When authorities reached the woman on July 27, she was dead.
“The passing of this young lady is tragic. I would like to stress how dangerous the terrain and weather can be for migrants or anyone in this region,” McGoffin said.
Authorities did not reveal the woman’s cause of death, age, or identity.
