June 3, 2020 639 PM
PRESIDIO — The body of 51-year-old Jesus Valenzuela Amaro was discovered by the Presidio County Sheriff’s Office along the Rio Grande near Fort Leaton on Saturday, May 30 after a brief search by officers. The deputies on the scene were able to identify Amaro because of identification on his person.
Sheriff Danny Dominguez said officers on Saturday had been alerted by family that Amaro was missing and had not been heard from since Friday, May 29. Dominguez said the family “called my deputy in Presidio. They were looking for him and that’s when they found him. It was a bad thing.”
According to Justice of the Peace Juanita Bishop, the family had contacted an officer Saturday morning, because they hadn’t heard from Amaro and had mentioned he was trying to get back into the United States. Amaro’s family told officers that Amaro had been deported last month, due to his resident alien permit expiring. He likely died attempting to re-enter the country illegally, they said.
As previously reported in The Big Bend Sentinel, grueling heat is a major cause of death for undocumented immigrants passing through the Big Bend region. For the next ten days, Presidio temperatures are forecasted to hit highs of 105 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.
Amaro had a history of heart problems and hypertension, the sheriff’s office said in a social media post. The department speculated that his health conditions, along with high temperatures, may have contributed to his death.
Deputies found no evidence of foul play, but Justice of the Peace Bishop ordered an autopsy, “Because I don’t know the cause of death, it could be heat stroke, it could be heart attack,” she said. The sheriff’s office and Texas Rangers are continuing to investigate the death.
