Border Patrol agent whose death is tied to cultlike Zizians is being buried with military honors
A US Border Patrol agent whose killing in Vermont during a traffic stop near the Canadian border has been tied to a cultlike group is scheduled to be buried with full military honors Saturday at a national cemetery.
David Maland, 44, died Jan. 20 during the stop on Interstate 91 in Conventry, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) south of the border with Canada. The driver of the stopped car is accused of opening fire on Maland and other agents, sparking a shootout that left her companion dead. Both belonged to a group called the Zizians that may be linked to six deaths in three states, investigators said.
Maland, who went by Chris, is to be buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis. A native of Minnesota, he served in the Air Force and the State Department before joining the Border Patrol.
'Chris was a loving son, brother, uncle, fiance and dedicated colleague,' his family said in a statement released late Friday. 'His kind heart and fighting soul made him a warm and inviting person to be around and pillar of strength for his country.
'We love you, Chris. You'll live in our hearts forever.'
In the Air Force, Maland was responsible for protecting bases, personnel and property. In 2001, he worked security duty at the Pentagon during the Sept. 11 attacks, his family said.
He received the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, among other honors, according to his obituary.
Maland was a K-9 handler at the State Department and at his Border Patrol job in Vermont. He first joined the Border Patrol in Texas.
'He will be remembered for his courage and commitment to protecting fellow Americans,' Minnesota state Rep. Krista Knudsen, Maland's cousin, said on the House floor last month. 'He is also a person who served faithfully with honor and bravery. He always put his service above himself.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
43 minutes ago
- New York Post
David Sweat reflects on 'Escape at Dannemora' 10 years later
A decade after he broke out of Clinton state prison in the infamous 'Escape at Dannemora' and led cops on a 23-day manhunt that riveted the nation, convicted killer David Sweat, in an exclusive jailhouse interview with The Post, confessed to his one regret. He should have picked a better partner in crime. 'If I hadn't done it with him, I'd probably still be out,' Sweat, 44, said of fellow escapee Richard Matt. Advertisement 8 David Sweat shared his one big regret with The Post during a visit at Mid-State Correctional Facility — nearly 10 years to the day after his infamous escape from Dannemora. AP With his wrists cuffed and a thick chain wrapped around his waist, the clean-shaven, bespectacled Sweat spoke publicly for the first time in eight years during a tearful, hour-long interview at the Mid-State Correctional Facility in upstate Marcy. The Post reporter, there for the 10th anniversary of the infamous June 6, 2015 escape, was his first visitor in three years, Sweat claimed. Advertisement 'If I'd known everything about him before, I probably would've done it alone,' Sweat said of the 49-year-old Matt. Sweat said he now believes Matt was as a confidential informant for the police back in the 1990s. Matt's 25-year to life sentence began in July 2008 after he was convicted of kidnapping, torturing and murdering 76-year-old William Rickerson, his former employer, in Niagara County in December 1997. 8 Sweat was recaptured on June 28, 2015, when he was shot twice in the back by a state trooper just south of the Canadian border. AP 'You can't trust someone like that . . . and that's worse than the drinking,' Sweat said. Advertisement He was referring to Matt's heavy boozing after the duo found bottles of liquor at an uninhabited cabin following their escape. 'I try not to live with regrets and look back, because it is what it is at this point,' Sweat continued in a soft voice. 'On the one hand, I'm glad that it helped some guys get better treatment and changed things in [Clinton Correctional Facility], because there was some bad crap going on. 'On the other hand, you know, I'm in here for the rest of my life.' Advertisement He added, 'I just wanted to be free.' Sweat now spends his days in an 18-by-5-foot cell. 8 Sweat and Richard Matt escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility on June 6, 2015 with the help of the prison's seamstress, Joyce Mitchell (pictured). LP Media He claims he has been in solitary confinement for 10 years, shuttled between nine different prisons. Sweat and Matt became close while serving time in adjoining cells at Clinton, where Sweat was serving a life sentence without parole for the 2002 killing of a Broome County sheriff's deputy. They hatched their elaborate bid for freedom with the aid of a prison seamstress — the 'Shawskank,' Joyce Mitchell — who was accused of having sexual relationships with both fugitives. Mitchell has repeatedly claimed she and Sweat were never intimate — though she admitted to investigators she had oral sex with Matt and gave nude photos of herself to Matt to give to Sweat. Using tools smuggled in by a correction officer that Mitchell concealed in frozen hamburger meat, they cut through their cell's steel walls over the span of months. The night of the escape, they crawled nearly 500 feet through a pipe before coming to the surface at a manhole cover outside the prison walls. But Mitchell never met them with a getaway car as planned. Advertisement 8 Sweat slammed Ben Stiller's hit 2018 Netflix series 'Escape at Dannemora' — in which he is played by actor Paul Dano (left) and Matt is portrayed by Benicio del Toro (right) — as a 'Hollywood production.' /SHOWTIME The fugitives made a desperate dash toward to the Candian borden, hiking through dense woods and swamps, and squatting in abandoned cabins, as 1,500 cops hunted them. They eventually split up because Sweat could no longer tolerate Matt's drinking and slow pace. Matt was killed in a standoff with cops on the 20th day of the manhunt. Sweat was captured two days later, after he was shot twice by a state trooper just south of the border. Advertisement Ben Stiller's hit 2018 series 'Escape at Dannemora,' in which Sweat is played by actor Paul Dano and Matt is portrayed by Benicio del Toro, reignited the public's fascination in the caper. Although he hasn't seen it, Sweat is not impressed. 'I don't like it because a lot of things . . . were untrue. Like, the stuff between me and Mitchell. We weren't involved like that at all,' he insisted. 8 Using tools smuggled in by Mitchell, the convicted killers cut and climbed into an 18-inch steam pipe in the facility's underbelly, then crawled nearly 500 feet before coming to the surface through a manhole cover. Getty Images Advertisement He also refuted a scene in which corrections officer Gene Palmer — played by actor David Morse — slams his head into a toilet. 'That never happened,' Sweat said. 'I never really interacted with Palmer. That was Matt's guy.' Sweat does not believe he can escape again. 'They'll never let me go to general population,' he said. 'They think I'd try to do it again or I'd help someone else.' Advertisement Any future escape attempts would be impossible in his cell at Mid State, he insisted. 8 'If I hadn't done it with him, I'd probably still be out somewhere,' Sweat said of his partner-in-crime, Richard Matt (pictured). AP 'If you cut through the walls, you'd just be in another cell. And if you cut through the basement — I mean, they use the basement in this prison.' Asked if he was lonely, tears began to well in Sweat's eyes before he replied, 'Yes.' Despite recent reports that he has a girlfriend, Sweat told The Post the relationship failed because she could not keep up with the constant transfers to the furthest corners of the state. Sweat passes the days by reading books — currently, the 'Wheel of Time' series — and listening to his radio. Between the prison's routine 6 a.m. wakeup call and his 9 p.m. bedtime, he works out by putting his books into a bag, and lifting it 'like a dumbbell.' 8 More than 1,500 law enforcement agents hunted Matt and Sweat during the 23-day manhunt, which cost the state a whopping $23 million. Getty Images His favorite activity is interacting with wildlife through the two windows in a tiny room attached to his cell, which he referred to as a 'pen.' 'There are birds and squirrels and stuff that come in here. I had a rabbit all winter. I tried to feed it carrots — it didn't really like them, I guess because they were steamed — but it ate them anyways, because it was free food. 'I have a groundhog that should be coming back around as the weather warms up,' Sweat said, smiling. 8 Sweat, who now spends his days in an 18-by-5-foot cell, had not had a visitor in the three years before The Post came calling on May 31, he said. He laughed upon learning that Joyce Mitchell, 61, remains married to her husband, Lyle. Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie alleged in 2015 that she had plotted with Sweat and Matt to murder Lyle. 'Wow. She was ready to knock him off, and I guess he refused to believe it — but that's a known fact. That's crazy,' Sweat said, shaking his head. Still, he has nothing but sympathy for Joyce Mitchell, who got out of prison in 2020. 'She lost her job and this affected her and her family,' he said. 'Five years is a long time. It probably did a number on her.'
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
17 illegal migrants discovered crammed in RV, sedan in sweltering Arizona heat
A man has been arrested and charged with human smuggling after 17 illegal migrants were found crammed inside an RV and a nearby sedan in the sweltering Arizona heat Wednesday. The majority of the illegal migrants, who are all from Mexico, were found packed inside the cramped RV which was parked on a property in Nogales as temperatures inside soared under the summer sun, according to Sean L. McGoffin, chief patrol agent of Border Patrol's Tucson Sector. Those inside the RV, including a minor, had limited space and ventilation with no access to running water, McGoffin said. The rest of the migrants were wedged into a small sedan that was discovered during a vehicle stop. "This rescue likely prevented a tragedy," McGoffin said. "With summer temperatures already climbing, packing people into trailers and vehicles without proper ventilation or water is a recipe for disaster. Human lives should never be treated as cargo." All the migrants are now safe, in custody and will be processed accordingly, McCoffin said. The rescued individuals are being processed for expedited removal in accordance with U.S. immigration law. The man who was arrested is a U.S. citizen and initially attempted to flee the scene on foot but was apprehended by agents shortly after. Investigators are working to determine whether others were involved. The operation was carried out by Nogales Border Patrol, Nogales Police and Homeland Security Investigations. "No recreation happening in this vehicle, instead it was used by smugglers forcing people to hide out in inhumane conditions in sweltering heat," McGoffin said. "Although no one was injured, the situation shows the danger illegal aliens face in the hands of smugglers."
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Russia hits Ukraine with 206 drones, 9 missiles overnight, Air Force says
Russia attacked Ukraine with 206 Shahed combat drones and decoys, as well as nine missiles, overnight on June 7, Ukraine's Air Force reported. Ukrainian air defenses shot down six Kh-59/69 cruise missiles launched by Russian tactical aircraft from the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast and one Iskander-K cruise missile launched from Russia's Rostov region, according to the Air Force. Ukraine also downed 87 Russian combat drones, while 80 drones were neutralized by electronic warfare systems or disappeared from radar, the Air Force said. Russian airstrikes hit 10 undisclosed locations, while wreckage from downed aerial targets landed in seven more, the Air Force said. Earlier in the day, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported that Russian forces attacked the city with drones, missiles, and KAB guided bombs overnight, killing at least three people and injuring 19. Located along the front line, Kharkiv Oblast in Ukraine's northeast is a regular target of Russian missile, drone, and glide bomb attacks from across the border. According to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak, six missiles and 27 drones were also downed in his oblast, leaving two people injured in the regional capital. The attack took place just a day after Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine, launching 452 drones, including Iranian-designed Shahed kamikaze drones and 45 missiles of various types. It killed four people, including first responders, and injured 80 across the country. "A cynical Russian strike on ordinary cities. More than 400 drones, more than 40 missiles. ... We need to put pressure on Russia to (accept a ceasefire) and to stop the strikes," President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Read also: Ukraine war latest: Russia hits Ukraine with large-scale attack days after Operation Spiderweb; Ukraine targets Russian air bases in 'preemptive strike' We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
