A suspected migrant was spotted on a ranch game camera using a stolen, single drum road roller to leave the border area. The construction vehicle was stolen from a privately owned ranch near Brackettville, Texas, on Monday. According to Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe, the suspected migrant used the vehicle to cross several ranches, causing extensive property damage until running out of gas.
Coe said the slow-moving vehicle was discovered nearly 10 miles from where it was stolen. Several ranch fences and water well pipelines were damaged along the escape route. Due to the limited staffing of the Kinney County Sheriff’s Department and the remoteness of the ranch, the suspected migrant eluded capture.
Coe says ranchers are voicing frustrations with the current border crisis, citing property break-ins and thefts daily.
As a solution to making recoveries of stolen ranch property more likely, Coe says the county will begin a program in January to register vehicle identification numbers and serial numbers on ranches. “If we have the information in our database before the theft occurs, we stand a chance of making a quicker recovery,” he added.
Brent Smith, the Kinney County Attorney, told Breitbart Texas he routinely hears similar theft and damage complaints.
“Their frustrations are growing, not just with the federal government but also with the state government as well,” he emphasized. Smith, who serves as the county’s prosecutor, has presented more than 4,000 cases on behalf of the county in 2022. Most involve migrant criminal activities.
Sheriff Coe says his issues with migrant traffic in Kinney County is not limited to private property damage or theft. High-speed vehicle pursuits involving smugglers are also a dangerous side effect of the increase in nearby migrant crossings. In December, one such pursuit left a smuggler and four migrants dead.
As reported by Breitbart Texas, more than 50,000 migrants were apprehended in the Border Patrol’s Del Rio Sector covering Kinney County. The Rio Grande is at the western tip of the county, 25 miles from Brackettville.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.
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