Investigators probe Del Rio rail yards in deadly Laredo train case

Investigators are now pressing into Del Rio rail yards after a freight train tied to six deaths in Laredo appeared to have started in Val Verde County, turning a deadly border case into a wider accountability test for rail security, law enforcement and smuggling detection.

The six bodies were found just after 3:30 p.m. Sunday, May 11, 2026, inside a Union Pacific boxcar at a rail yard in the 12000 block of Jim Young Way, about 15 miles north of downtown Laredo. Authorities believe extreme heat played a major role. The National Weather Service recorded highs around 90 degrees Monday and Tuesday, adding to concerns that the victims were trapped in deadly conditions inside the rail car.

Bexar County authorities also have linked a seventh death to the same train. The body of Nereo Aguilar Garcia, 49, was found around 1:30 p.m. Monday near railroad tracks by Pue and Wolf roads, just outside Loop 1604 in southwest Bexar County. His cause and manner of death were still pending in the reporting reviewed. Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said the train originated in Del Rio and later split in San Antonio, with half going to Houston and half to Laredo.

That route now puts Del Rio at the center of the investigation. FOX SA reported that sensors on the train indicated a boxcar door may have been opened in Del Rio, a detail that could point investigators toward activity in local rail yards before the train moved deeper into South Texas. Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez said concerns about Del Rio rail yards have existed for years because of the area’s border proximity.

The Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office identified five of the six Laredo victims as a 56-year-old man from Mexico, a 45-year-old man from Mexico, a 29-year-old woman from Mexico, a 24-year-old man from Honduras and a 14-year-old boy from Honduras. The office determined the 29-year-old woman died of hyperthermia, and authorities suspect the same cause for the other five pending final exams. The office is working with the Mexican Consulate to notify families and repatriate remains.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Department of Homeland Security are treating the case as a potential human-smuggling event, and the widening inquiry could bring more scrutiny to rail corridors in and around Del Rio. The International Organization for Migration counted at least 131 deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border in 2025, with about 15% tied to extreme environmental conditions and lack of water, food or shelter. In Webb County, where migration-related deaths are common enough that the medical examiner said this spring has been busier than the same period last year, the Del Rio connection may prove to be the most important question still being asked.