The Mexican Consulate is working with Cochise County investigators to identify a man who died Saturday after U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered a group of undocumented immigrants in a remote, mountainous area 30 miles north of the border.
The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office released a limited statement Sunday evening that deputies were informed around 10 p.m. Saturday of a “seriously injured” person near Skeleton Canyon, which is in the Peloncillo Mountains. A USBP agent with training in emergency medical services attended to the subject, who died at the scene.
According to law enforcement sources, one male subject, presumed to be an illegal immigrant, was fatally wounded by an on-duty USBP agent who was with other agents at the time. However, CCSO spokeswoman Carol Capas would not on reports that police radio traffic at that time referred specifically to an agent-involved shooting in the Skeleton Canyon area.
Capas noted that other suspected illegal immigrants were taken into custody, then removed from the area on foot and later transported to a nearby USBP station to be interviewed.
Removal of the deceased’s body was postponed until early Sunday to allow for the utilization of an Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter to access the difficult terrain and allow investigators to safely canvass the area. The scene was cleared around 7 p.m. Sunday, said Capas, who added that an autopsy will be conducted by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner.
In addition to CCSO detectives, there are personnel from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General and the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Professional Responsibility involved in the investigation. USBP is a division of CBP.
The death was reported to the Mexican Consulate in an effort to identify the male subject and provide notification of death to his next of kin.
Capas added that the investigation is in the preliminary stage. Additional information will be released as it becomes available, she said.
