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The frozen bodies of four people, including an infant, were found near the Canadian border on Wednesday, and a Florida man has been arrested on human smuggling charges related to the case.
When agents inspected the vehicle, they found two Indian nationals inside. They arrested Shand for smuggling undocumented foreign nationals.
While Shand and the passengers were being transported to the Pembina Border Patrol Station in North Dakota, law enforcement ran across five additional Indian nationals about a quarter mile south of the Canadian border walking in the direction of where Shand was arrested, the statement alleges.
One of the group members was carrying a backpack that he said did not belong to him. He told authorities that he was carrying the backpack for a family of four Indian nationals that had earlier walked with his group but had become separated during the night. According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, the backpack contained children’s clothes, a diaper, toys, and some children’s medication.
Later that day, four bodies were found frozen just over the Canadian side of the border. The dead bodies have been tentatively identified as the family of four that was separated from the rest of the group.
“It is an absolute and heartbreaking tragedy,” Assistant Commissioner Jane MacLatchy of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said ata news conferenceon Thursday, according to theNew York Times. She added that it appears that all four victims died due to exposure to the cold.
Temperatures dipped well below zero on Wednesday, when the bodies were found.
Two of the surviving Indian nationals suffered serious injuries and were transported to a hospital. Their condition is not currently known.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Shand has been charged with one count of “knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien had come to, entered, or remained in the United States in violation of law, having transported, and moved or having attempted to transport and move such aliens.”
In a news conference on Friday morning, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that his government is working with the United States government to prevent people from being smuggled across the border.
Speaking in French, Trudeau said that human traffickers seem to have taken advantage of a family’s desire to seek a better life in America.
Shand is being held without bond until a preliminary hearing next week. He has not yet entered a plea and it is unclear if he has retained an attorney.
source: people.com
