Search suspended for drowned Texas National Guard soldier

The Texas Navy Division has suspended a seek for a 22-year-old soldier who went lacking in a river alongside the U.S.-Mexico border whereas attempting to assist a migrant girl swim throughout.

Dive operations could proceed Saturday however the Rio Grande’s notoriously sturdy currents pressured them Friday to stop rescue efforts of the lacking Texas Military Nationwide Guard soldier, whose title has not been launched. The soldier was assigned to a border safety mission, the division mentioned in a press release.

“We’ll proceed the seek for our soldier till we have now exhausted all attainable assets,” the assertion learn.

The division additionally mentioned that it’s within the means of notifying the soldier’s subsequent of kin.

Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber mentioned the migrant girl made it about midway throughout the Rio Grande from Mexico when she appeared to start struggling to stay afloat.

“[The soldier] jumped within the river,” Schmerber mentioned. “They by no means noticed him come out.”

The girl finally acquired throughout and was positioned within the custody of Border Patrol, Schmerber mentioned. The incident occurred round 8:30 a.m. Central Time on Friday.

The Sheriff’s workplace, state troopers and Border Patrol brokers had been concerned within the preliminary search.

The incident comes as migration ranges alongside the southern border soar, having reached greater than 221,000 in March – probably the most in a single month since President Biden took workplace, throughout which there was an rising surge. 

The soldier was assigned to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s multi-billion border safety mission, Operation Lone Star, which has deployed 1000’s of Guard members throughout Texas’ 1,200-mile southern border since launching final yr.

With Publish wires.