LAREDO, Texas – The Laredo Police Department is expected to provide a Thursday afternoon update on the six bodies found inside a railroad boxcar last weekend.
KSAT will provide a livestream of the press conference at 2 p.m. in this article. Delays are possible. If there is not a livestream available, please check back at a later time.
The 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.
Laredo police officers confirmed that six people were found dead at the scene.
A seventh person, who is 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.
In a Tuesday news release, the Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office released the identities of five of the six people found in Laredo:
- 56-year-old man from Mexico
- 45-year-old man from Mexico
- 29-year-old woman from Mexico
- 24-year-old man from Honduras
- 14-year-old boy from Honduras
The Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that 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.
Salazar said the train originated in Del Rio and had a door open to allow people to load in before the train split. Half were going to Houston and half going to Laredo.
The Webb County Medical Examiner said it believes the “individuals originated from Mexico and Honduras.” The office said it is working closely with the Mexican Consulate to facilitate communication with families of the deceased.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is investigating the case as a potential human smuggling event, according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson.
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