Border Officials Announce Dramatic Drop in Yuma Sector Rescues, Deaths
Illegal immigrant rescues and deaths in the U.S. Border Patrol's Yuma Sector are down nearly 80 percent compared to the same time last year, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials announced on April 25.
Yuma Sector Chief Patrol Agent Justin De La Torre told reporters at a press briefing in Yuma, Arizona, that for fiscal year 2025, his agents have so far conducted 19 rescues and recorded one death.
That's about a 79 percent drop from the 89 rescues and six deaths agents recorded over the same period last year.
The decrease tracks with the overall
'The people who previously were coming here for economic reasons, we believe the message is out that this is not the way to cross, because we've seen such a drastic reduction in the number of people crossing for those reasons,' De La Torre said.
He attributed that change to one major policy reversal: the end of the so-called 'catch-and-release' policy.
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'We are no longer releasing people after arresting them into the United States before the adjudication of their immigration hearing,' De La Torre said.
As for the decrease in deaths, De La Torre attributed that to CBP's Missing Migrant Program, launched in 2017, which he described as a 'technology-based intervention program that improves the chance of survival for those lost in the desert.'
He noted that the Yuma Sector has 24 rescue beacons and 124 rescue signs scattered throughout the desert that display the viewer's coordinates and instructions for calling 911 for help.
While the number of illegal crossings has significantly decreased, De La Torre said his agents were still seeing people—mostly single adults with criminal records—attempting to enter unlawfully 'through remote and dangerous terrain.'
To those individuals, he issued a warning: 'It's still not worth your life to be smuggled in by the criminal organizations. It's not worth losing your life or being subjected to exploitation to come to the United States.'
The press briefing included officials from Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru.
Juan Pablo Valdivieso, ambassador and consul general of Ecuador, stressed the importance of transnational cooperation to thwart the criminal organizations that are trafficking people and drugs throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Valdivieso noted that just 15 days prior, the Ecuadorian government incinerated 340 tons of cocaine that had been seized over the previous few months.
Drug trafficking, he said, brings these criminal organizations 'a lot of money, more than we can imagine.'
He added that the same can be said for human trafficking, which also brings 'a lot of suffer[ing] to those people who risk their lives and to their family that do not know what's going on, what happened to them.'
Concluding his remarks in Spanish, Valdivieso praised CBP's Missing Migrant Program for the lives it has saved—'lives that are invaluable to their families.'
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
'Devil in the Ozarks' fugitive captured after 12-day Arkansas manhunt
A former Arkansas police chief who escaped from a prison where he was serving decades-long sentences for murder and rape was captured June 6 after a 12-day manhunt involving federal, state and local law enforcement. Grant Hardin, known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks,' was caught around 3 p.m. local time just a mile and a half from the prison he escaped nearly two weeks earlier, according to Arkansas Department of Corrections spokesperson Rand Champion. Hardin, 56, was thought to have fled the state. Tracking dogs picked up Hardin's scent west of the prison near Moccasin Creek in Izard County, according to Champion. Photos of Hardin's arrest show him wearing a sullied shirt. His face appears thinner than in earlier mugshots. "Thanks to the great work of local, state and federal law enforcement Arkansans can breathe a sigh of relief and I can confirm that violent criminal Grant Hardin is back in custody,' said Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. 'I am grateful for all law enforcement who contributed to his capture and give special thanks to the Trump administration and Secretary Kristi Noem, who sent a team from Border Patrol that was instrumental in tracking and apprehending Hardin.' Arkansas law enforcement authorities and U.S. Border Patrol agents participated in the arrest, according to Champion. 'This was a great joint operation by a number of agencies, and I'm so thankful for their tireless efforts,' said Dexter Payne, director of the Arkansas Division of Correction. 'The Arkansas State Police, U.S. Marshals, FBI, Border Patrol, Game and Fish, all the state and local agencies, along with the dedication of our Department employees, all played an indispensable role and I express my extreme gratitude.' Hardin had gained notoriety as the subject of the 2023 documentary 'Devil in the Ozarks'' about his 1997 rape of a school teacher and 2017 murder of a water department worker. Hardin fled the North Central Unit prison in Calico Rock, Arkansas, through a secure entryway on May 25 wearing a fake law enforcement uniform. His disguise caused a corrections officer to open a gate and let him walk out of the medium-security facility. Discover WITNESS: Access our exclusive collection of true crime stories, podcasts, videos and more The escape followed the May 16 jailbreak of 10 inmates in New Orleans – several of them charged with murder – which drew national attention and caused consternation in area communities. Hardin was regarded as no less dangerous a fugitive. In 2017 he was convicted of killing James Appleton, an employee of the northwest Arkansas town of Gateway whose brother-in-law, Andrew Tillman, was the mayor. Tillman told investigators they were talking on the phone when Appleton was shot to death in his pickup truck. A DNA test conducted following the murder connected Hardin to an unresolved 1997 rape in Rogers, Arkansas, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in the case. The teacher was attacked at gunpoint after leaving her classroom to go to a restroom near the teacher's lounge, according to the affidavit. Like true crime? Check out Witness: A library of true crime stories Getting away with murder: : These fugitives were never caught Hardin's combined convictions, including two counts of rape, added up to 80 years in prison sentences. 'He's a sociopath,'' former Benton County prosecutor Nathan Smith told Arkansas ABC affiliate KHBS/KHOG. 'Prison's not full of people who are all bad. It's full of a lot of people who just do bad things. Grant's different.'' Hardin had an erratic career in Arkansas law enforcement starting in 1990, working for police departments in Fayetteville, Huntsville and Eureka Springs before briefly serving as Gateway's police chief in 2016. He was fired from the Fayetteville job after less than a year because of subpar performance and failure to accept constructive criticism, according to KHBS/KHOG. In Huntsville, where he worked from April 1993 to October 1996, the former police chief told the TV station Hardin used excessive force and made poor decisions. Escaping from prison, for which he now faces charges, may be just the latest one. Contributing: N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Michael Loria and James Powel, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Devil in the Ozarks' fugitive captured after 12-day Arkansas manhunt
Hamilton Spectator
3 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Ex-police chief and convicted killer who escaped from an Arkansas prison has been captured
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There's no indication that Hardin was injured, though he will be checked for dehydration and other medical problems. Now, investigators are 'chomping at the bit and really ready to talk to him,' said Champion, who used his cellphone to capture an image of Hardin being led away by officers. Hardin said nothing during those moments. How the escape happened Hardin had been held at the Calico Rock prison since 2017 after pleading guilty to first-degree murder in a fatal shooting. In order to escape, he impersonated a corrections officer 'in dress and manner,' according to a court document. A prison officer in one of the guard towers opened a secure gate, allowing him to walk out of the facility. Champion said that someone should have checked Hardin's identity before he was allowed to leave, describing the lack of verification as a 'lapse' that's being investigated. Searchers had been using bloodhounds, officers on horseback, drones and helicopters in their hunt for Hardin since he escaped on May 25. Shortly after the escape, a bloodhound found — then quickly lost — Hardin's scent when heavy rains blew through the area, Champion said. The bloodhound tracked Hardin's path for less than a quarter of a mile, after which could have gone in any direction. 'That was one of the most frustrating things, that they were able to track him but then they lost him because of the rain,' Champion said. An elite and highly trained U.S. Border Patrol team had recently joined the search, federal authorities announced this week. The Border Patrol Tactical Team known as BORTAC provided 'advanced search capabilities and operational support,' U.S. Customs and Border Protection said. Its members are experienced in navigating complex terrain, the agency said. The Ozark Mountains region is known for its rocky and rugged landscape, thick forests and an extensive cave network. Hardin's criminal convictions Hardin pleaded guilty in 2017 to first-degree murder for the killing of James Appleton, 59. Appleton worked for the Gateway water department when he was shot in the head Feb. 23, 2017, near Garfield. Police found Appleton's body inside a car. Hardin was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Hardin's DNA was also matched to the 1997 rape of a teacher at an elementary school in Rogers, north of Fayetteville. He was sentenced to 50 years for that crime. Cheryl Tillman, Appleton's sister , was with her mother and sister at a flea market in Ozark, Missouri, when law enforcement called to tell her Hardin had been captured. Tillman is also the mayor of Gateway, the 450-person town where Hardin was briefly police chief. Tillman told The Associated Press that Hardin's capture was a 'big sigh of relief' for her whole family. 'We don't have to walk around, turning around all the time, thinking somebody's on our back,' Tillman said, emphasizing her appreciation for the officers who helped capture Hardin. A problematic past in law enforcement Though Hardin was police chief in Gateway for just four months, he had served as an officer in multiple communities around northwest Arkansas, his police records show. In his first job as a police officer 35 years ago in Fayetteville, Hardin struggled almost immediately, his supervisors said. He was dismissed by Fayetteville police, but kept getting hired for other law enforcement jobs in northwest Arkansas over the years. Hardin worked about six months at the Huntsville Police Department before resigning, but records do not give a reason for his resignation. He later worked at the Eureka Springs Police Department from 1993 to 1996. Former Chief Earl Hyatt said Hardin resigned because Hyatt was going to fire him over incidents that included the use of excessive force. 'He did not need to be a police officer at all,' Hyatt told television station KNWA. By the time he was the police chief in Gateway in 2016, 'he was out chasing cars for no reason,' Tillman recalled in the documentary 'Devil in the Ozarks.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Notorious 'Devil in the Ozarks' finally caught after weeks-long manhunt that drew multiple agencies
Escapee Grant Hardin, a convicted murderer and rapist who sparked a multi-agency manhunt after fleeing custody last month, has been captured. Nicknamed the "Devil in the Ozarks," Hardin was apprehended this afternoon approximately 1.5 miles north-northwest of the North Central Unit prison facility from which he escaped on May 25, the Izard County Sheriff's Office said. Hardin's identity was confirmed through fingerprint analysis prior to the department's announcement of his long-awaited capture. Officials said that he was taken into custody without incident, ending a weeks-long manhunt that had drawn in local law enforcement, state police, federal agencies, and elite tactical units. The capture of the fugitive came after authorities focused their search in the rugged, remote terrain surrounding the prison grounds. Dangerous 'Devil In The Ozarks' Former Police Chief On The Run As Expert Warns Outdoorsmen To Stay Away The Arkansas Department of Correction said that Hardin's eventual capture was a joint effort by Arkansas law enforcement officers and the U.S. Border Patrol near Moccasin Creek. Tracking dogs were able to pick up a scent in the area, and Hardin was apprehended a short time later, they said. Read On The Fox News App "Thanks to the great work of local, state and federal law enforcement, Arkansans can breathe a sigh of relief and I can confirm that violent criminal Grant Hardin is back in custody," said Governor Sarah Sanders. "I am grateful for all law enforcement who contributed to his capture and give special thanks to the Trump administration and Secretary Kristi Noem, who sent a team from Border Patrol that was instrumental in tracking and apprehending Hardin." Sources told Fox News that Hardin appeared malnourished when he was apprehended. Hardin, 56, was serving an 80-year sentence for the 2017 murder of James Appleton and a previously unsolved 1997 rape case. Hardin escaped prison through a sally port, wearing a makeshift ADC-style uniform, ADC communications director Rand Champion said last week, noting the uniform he was wearing was not official. Following his escape at approximately 2:55 p.m. on Sunday, May 25, federal and local law enforcement tirelessness searched for the ex-police chief. "I'm incredibly appreciative to all of our dedicated law enforcement agencies that spent countless hours, both day and night, sacrificing their time, utilizing their resources and lending their invaluable expertise to this search," said Secretary of Corrections Lindsay Wallace. "To every one of our Department staff that assisted in this manhunt over the last 13 days, I give my heartfelt thank you for your immeasurable contributions to bring this search to a peaceful conclusion." Arkansas Officials Release New Photo Of Escaped 'Devil In The Ozarks' On Run For Weeks In a statement, the Izard County Sheriff's Office thanked the public and the law enforcement community for their ongoing support and vigilance during the manhunt. "We sincerely appreciate the continued support of the community for all law enforcement personnel involved in this operation," the department said. WATCH: Officials have not yet released further details regarding how Hardin was located or whether he received any outside assistance during his escape. Investigations into the security breach remain ongoing. Fox News Digital's Audrey Conklin contributed to this article source: Notorious 'Devil in the Ozarks' finally caught after weeks-long manhunt that drew multiple agencies
