16 migrants, hidden pot found by agents in Arizona

FERNANDA ECHÁVARRI
Tucson Citizen
Sixteen illegal immigrants, two with criminal records; 2,600 pounds of marijuana; and human skeletal remains were found by Border Patrol on Thursday, authorities said.

Agents with the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector found an abandoned Chevrolet truck on the Tohono O'odham Nation Thursday morning, U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Rob Daniels said.

The truck was hidden under thick desert brush and had 2,600 pounds of marijuana inside, Daniels said.

Though agents searched the area for a driver, nobody was found.

In the afternoon, agents found 15 illegal immigrants northwest of Sasabe, Daniels said.

Agents took them into custody and database checks showed one had a warrant for his arrest in Alabama, he said.

The man, originally from El Salvador, was wanted on accusations of sexual assault and rape in 2006, Daniels said. He was turned over to Tucson police for extradition to Alabama.

Later Thursday afternoon, agents found another man from El Salvador near Sells.

Daniels said that man was convicted of aggravated child sexual assault in 2000. He was in a Texas jail for five years, and was deported February 2005.

The man will be prosecuted for illegal re-entry after deportation, Daniels said.

The Border Patrol did not release the names of either of the men from El Salvador.

At 8 p.m. Thursday, members of the Border Patrol Search, Trauma And Rescue team found human skeletal remains southwest of Three Points.

"Unfortunately these are the types of things that happen too frequently," Daniels said. "It's the harsh reality of the desert."