Texas National Guard soldier missing after ‘trying to rescue migrants’ in Rio Grande
A Texas National Guard soldier is reportedly missing after trying to save migrants in the Rio Grande. Initial reports indicated that the soldier had drowned.
The Texas Military Department stated that a soldier assigned to Operation Lone Star ‘has gone missing along a river during a mission-related incident’, Fox News reported.
Earlier on Friday, FOX reporter Bill Melugin said that a soldier had drowned.
‘Multiple sources tell me a Texas National Guard soldier has just drowned in the Rio Grande here in Eagle Pass while trying to save migrants in the water,’ Melugin tweeted shortly after noon.
He added that the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed a body was recovered.
Sources later told Fox News that the recovered body was that of a migrant and not a soldier.
The Texas Military Department stated that ‘the soldier has not been found’ and said that reports of a death were ‘inaccurate’.
‘The Texas Military Department, Texas DPS and Border Patrol are working rapidly to find the Soldier,’ the agency stated.
The soldier has not been identified.
The incident comes as US border officials apprehended a record 221,303 migrants at the southern border in March, which was 55,409 more than in February.
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