NewsBorder

Actions

Autopsy set for migrant girl, 7, who died in border custody

Posted at 7:03 AM, Dec 14, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-14 09:03:01-05

WASHINGTON (AP) - Immigration officials say an autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death of a 7-year-old migrant girl who suffered seizures in custody and later died.

Officials say the girl was found Dec. 6 near Lordsburg, New Mexico, by U.S. Border Patrol agents. They say the girl was taken into custody for about eight hours and then began having seizures.

Emergency medical technicians discovered her fever was 105.7 degrees Fahrenheit (40.9 degrees Celsius). The Guatemalan girl was airlifted to an El Paso, Texas, hospital, where she died.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said Friday the girl was traveling with her father, fixing an error in an earlier statement that said she was unaccompanied. The Washington Post reported Thursday she had been traveling with her father, citing the same federal agency.