Six found dead in Union Pacific boxcar near Texas-Mexico border

The bodies of six people were discovered inside a Union Pacific train boxcar in Laredo, Texas, on Saturday, May 10, after a railroad employee found them during a routine rail car inspection at a remote rail yard near the U.S.-Mexico border, according to CBS News and Reuters.

The Details

Laredo police said the boxcar was in a remote rail yard location near the Mexican border, and that the investigation into the deaths was ongoing, Reuters reported. Authorities received the call around 3 p.m. Saturday from the Union Pacific yard near mile marker 13 off Interstate 35, and found no survivors, local station KGNS reported. Webb County Medical Examiner Dr. Corinne Stern confirmed the victims included five men and one woman, KGNS reported. Hyperthermia was confirmed as the cause of death for the woman, and the likely cause for the remaining victims pending completion of examinations, according to the medical examiner update cited by KGNS. By Monday morning, two of the victims had been identified as a 29-year-old woman from Mexico and a 24-year-old man from Honduras, according to the medical examiner update cited by KGNS. Laredo police spokesperson Joe Baeza described the investigation as being in its earliest phase. "At this point it's a very early phase of the investigation. There's not a lot to reveal right now because we just began the investigation so far," Baeza said, according to KGNS. Laredo Mayor Dr. Victor D. Trevino also addressed the deaths. "As the investigation continues into the identities of the six individuals found inside a train boxcar in Laredo, this tragedy strikes at the center of our humanity," Trevino said.

Context

Laredo is one of Texas' largest trade hubs with Mexico. Union Pacific says it is the only railroad serving all rail access points into Mexico, CNN reported. Reuters noted previous mass-fatality smuggling cases near the U.S.-Mexico border, including the 2022 San Antonio tractor-trailer deaths, though authorities have not publicly established a direct link in this case.

What's Next

Authorities have not released the full identities, ages, or confirmed nationalities of all six victims. Investigators have not publicly established how long the victims were inside the boxcar or whether the case is being treated as a smuggling operation. Police have described the investigation as ongoing.