Culberson County Sheriff frustrated by increasing number of migrant bodies in desert

CULBERSON COUNTY, Texas - Culberson County Sheriff Oscar Carrillo told ABC-7 that he is alarmed by the number of bodies that have been turning up in his area.

“Historically, we have encountered maybe one to two bodies of migrants per year. In 2021 we are up to 30,” the sheriff said.

A problem Sheriff Carrillo is experiencing is how much it costs to process the body and who is having to foot the bill.

“Right now, when we process a death it's all at local taxpayer money. We can't continue funding these investigations that are incurring these expenses," said Carrillo.

He believes he knows who is responsible saying, "The coyotes, the guides, the people, the cartels holding them accountable for the lost lives. We need to prosecute these people and we are not seeing it. We are seeing very small numbers from the federal government and on the state side.”