LAREDO, Texas – The boxcar where six immigrants were found dead last weekend in Laredo is believed to have traveled from California, the Laredo Police Department said in a Thursday afternoon news conference.
The train traveled a route from Long Beach, California, to Texas, LPD said.
Police suspect at least six people entered the train’s boxcar in Del Rio, Texas, on Saturday.
The six bodies were discovered just after 3:30 p.m. Sunday at a rail yard in the 12000 block of Jim Young Way, which is located approximately 15 miles north of downtown Laredo.
It is unclear which city the immigrants were attempting to travel to or when they died.
Police said they are investigating the case as a “human smuggling situation.” The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is also investigating, according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson.
In a Tuesday news release, the Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office released identifying information about five of the six people found in Laredo:
- A 56-year-old man from Mexico
- A 45-year-old man from Mexico
- A 29-year-old woman from Mexico
- A 24-year-old man from Honduras
- A 14-year-old boy from Honduras
The Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the woman from Mexico died due to hyperthermia. While exams for the other five people remain pending, officials believe it is likely they all suffered the same cause of death.
The office said it is working closely with the Mexican Consulate to facilitate communication with families of the deceased.
A seventh person, a Mexican resident believed to be connected to those found in Laredo, was discovered on Monday along railroad tracks in southwest Bexar County, according to Sheriff Javier Salazar.
The man was identified on Wednesday as Nereo Aguilar Garcia, 49, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Salazar said the train traveled through Bexar County from Del Rio and had a door open to allow people to load in before the train freight split, with half going to Houston and half going to Laredo.
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