Juarez Officials Identify Body Found In River

Juarez fire officials have confirmed the body found in the Rio Grande is the Las Cruces man who went missing on Monday.

Officials have identified him as 45-year-old Ezequiel Roman Lesa.

He was pulled by the river’s current, reportedly while trying to catch a duck.

His body was found just south of Bowie High School just before 1 p.m. Thursday.

Juarez authorities said he was a U.S. citizen living in Las Cruces.

The husband and father of a 5-year-old boy was found dead nearly 70 hours after he went missing.

Several emergency and law enforcement crews from both sides of the border responded.

Despite this latest grim discovery, U.S. Border Patrol officials said in the last year, the number of water deaths has gone down 67 percent. They attribute that to the border fence as well as working with the Mexican government in educating the public.

One of the tools used is public service announcements running in Mexico warning about the dangers of crossing the border illegally. In ‘No Mas Cruces En La Frontera,’ it shows three teenagers trying to cross the river to the other side. At the end of the video, crosses with the teens names are displayed to show they never made it.

Despite the tranquil appearance of the river and canal, Border Patrol officials say both are very dangerous. That’s why they say people should pay attention to the caution signs along the fence.

In a simulation Thursday afternoon, agents with the Swift-Water Rescue team and the Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) team demonstrated just how treacherous the water can be.

“You don’t know how deep it is or how shallow, and then you bang your head, you go unconscious and you go under,” explained Omar Cordova, with BORSTAR.

He said that’s part of what can make a rescue effort more difficult.

“Once unconscious, you really can’t give them commands and they really can’t respond to stuff,” said Cordova.