Border Patrol agent dies in ATV crash near the US-Mexico border in Arizona

PHOENIX – A U.S. Border Patrol agent died Tuesday in an ATV crash near the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, authorities said.

Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Wednesday morning his team responded to the crash the previous night.

He said there wasn’t much information to release about the incident while the investigation was in the early stages.

“What caused the accident and what was he doing at the time, that’s what we’re investigating right now,” Dannels said.

The southern Arizona sheriff didn’t provide the agent’s name but said he was in his 40s.

Human smuggling activity creates dangerous situation

Dannels told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Wednesday that high levels of human smuggling have created a dangerous environment for law enforcement along the border.

He said state and local agencies and the Border Patrol “are working their tails off” but aren’t getting enough support from the federal government.

“It’s a real trying time right now because we’re seeing such an impact,” he said. “They keep on coming, they just keep on coming, and the smuggler drivers keep on coming throughout the United States, here to Cochise County.”

“We know the task is high. We know the challenges are high. … We’re just asking for a little help out of Washington D.C. We’re not getting it.”

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Shira Tanzer contributed to this report.

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