Officials probe suspected smuggling deaths linked to Del Rio train stop
Six people were found dead in a rail container in Laredo after investigators say they were loaded in Del Rio, exposing a deadly smuggling route through Val Verde County.
Federal and local authorities are investigating a suspected smuggling case after six people were found dead inside a shipping container at the Union Pacific rail yard in Laredo, with investigators believing the victims were loaded in Del Rio before the train moved on through Texas. The train had left Long Beach, California, on May 7, arrived in Del Rio on May 9, and the bodies were discovered during a routine rail-yard inspection in Laredo on Sunday, May 10.
The case has put Val Verde County under a sharper spotlight because investigators say the Del Rio stop was where the victims were placed inside the boxcar. From there, the train continued to San Antonio and then Laredo, where the deaths were uncovered. Authorities are treating the case as a suspected human smuggling incident, and the Webb County medical examiner suspects hyperthermia, or heat stroke, caused the deaths.
Five of the six people found in the container have been identified. They include 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 Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed that the 29-year-old woman from Mexico died from hyperthermia.
A seventh person was found dead near railroad tracks in southwest Bexar County on Monday, May 11, and investigators believe that person was part of the same group. Federal authorities, including the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, are leading the investigation, while the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office is also involved.
Local officials have called the deaths a tragedy and said the city is seeking additional security measures. The case has raised new questions about how people can be moved through commercial freight systems along the border and what safeguards failed between Del Rio and Laredo. It also underscores how smuggling routes can cut through ordinary rail traffic, turning a routine train movement into a mass-casualty investigation.
The Webb County medical examiner’s office said it is working with the Mexican Consulate to notify families and coordinate repatriation. Mexican authorities are also assisting relatives as the investigation continues across Webb, Val Verde, Bexar and Webb County’s rail corridors.
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