LAREDO, Texas – A fleeing driver in a tractor-trailer led Border Patrol agents to a troubling find Wednesday evening north of Laredo.
The driver abandoned the truck and ran leaving behind the locked rig with 17 undocumented immigrants trapped inside, officials said.
Agents busted the trailer open and found the immigrants, including nine children, inside.
They say all the people were okay.
The immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala were taken into custody pending further investigation.
The incident happened at the Border Patrol checkpoint of Highway 83 north of Laredo.
The rig driver pulled over for a secondary inspection, then drove away and ran from the truck, officials said.
The Border Patrol said he has not been caught.