Man Who Drowned In Border Canal Identified

The man whose body was pulled from an irrigation canal July 6 turned out to be a father who intended to cross the border illegally with his 5-year-old daughter. The little girl also died in the attempt.

The Office of the Medical Examiner in El Paso said the man was 30-year-old Rodolfo Gustavo Beltran Rubio of Juarez. It took two weeks to identify him because the coroner would not allow the woman authorities suspected to be his wife to view the body in the condition he was in.

She finally identified him through photographs.

Beltran Rubio and his little daughter were trying to cross illegally into El Paso on July 4 when they were swept away by strong currents in the canal adjacent to the border. The girl was pulled from the water that day and rushed to University Medical Center where she died a day later, after doctors removed her from life support.

The girl’s identity was unknown. El Paso police released a photo of her red-and-white dress in hopes that someone would recognize it.

A day later, the girl’s mother arrived at an international bridge to ask about her missing husband and daughter. She identified the girl as her daughter, Eva. That same afternoon, rescuers recovered the body of a man miles away from where the girl had been pulled but were unable to confirm his identity until this week.

A Mexican Consulate spokesman told ABC-7 they will help the family cover the funeral costs.