EAGLE PASS, Texas — The bodies of four migrants were recovered by the Texas Department of Public Safety within a span of 48 hours.
Border Patrol officials saw multiple bodies floating in the Rio Grande and called for help regarding an infant possibly drowning.
On July 1, an adult woman and an infant girl were pulled onto an airboat and found unresponsive. Lifesaving measures were performed on the two as they were taken to Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center in Eagle Pass where they were pronounced dead.
Two other survivors were rescued and turned over to Border Patrol.
A man's body was then recovered from the river on July 2, followed by a woman's body on July 3. Authorities said they don't know the identity of the four people since none of them had documents.
The bodies were recovered just days before DPS was set to place buoys in the Rio Grande as a way to deter crossings.
"We're securing the border at the border," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said back in June. "What these buoys will allow us to do is prevent people from getting to the border."
DPS Director Steve McCraw said the first 1,000 feet of buoys would be deployed near Eagle Pass because of the number of illegal crossings in the Maverick County area.
The move to place buoys also comes after a Texas National Guard soldier drowned near Eagle Pass last year trying to rescue migrants in the river.
