By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office deputies recovered the body of a drowned man from the Rio Grande on Thursday.
The body is believed to be that of an immigrant who died while attempting to illegally cross the river, and if it is, it will be the first recorded in Val Verde County this year.
Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez said a total of 12 immigrants drowned in the Rio Grande along the southern boundary of the county last year.
Sixteen other immigrant deaths were recorded in Val Verde County in 2021. Six of those deaths were related to the elements, and nine were the result of motor vehicle accidents, after the drivers of those vehicles tried to flee law enforcement. One death is recorded as “other,” Martinez said.
VVSO Chief Deputy Waylon Bullard on Friday said Border Patrol agents patrolling the Rio Grande alerted the sheriff’s office about 12:45 p.m. Thursday to a body floating in the river near the Star Ranch boat ramp downstream of the Del Rio International Bridge.
“They called us, and we went out there, and it was actually shallow enough that they were able to wade out into the river and bring the body to shore, and then they waited for the funeral home to pick the body up,” Bullard said.
Bullard said there were no obvious signs of foul play on the body, which was that of a man, but an autopsy was ordered. The body was transported to the Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office if Laredo where the autopsy will be performed.
Bullard said there was no identification on the body, but the body is believed to be that of an immigrant who drowned while attempting to cross the river.
“From which country, we’re not sure, but he had a ton of tattoos, and we’re hoping we can come up with something off those,” Bullard said.
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