[Vision2020] From the pages of the Nogales (AZ) International

[Kai Eiselein, editor]

On Sunday, July 16, at 6:05 a.m. a man flagged down a Border Patrol vehicle 
on the west side of Rio Rico near Via Encinos and Calvillo Court in an 
effort to help his brother. Omar Lopez Mendiola, 28, had apparently become 
sick and eventually unresponsive after the two had crossed over the 
U.S.-Mexico border. Emergency personnel from the Rio Rico Fire Department 
were unable to revive the victim, and he was pronounced dead at 7:30 a.m. 
Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada said he waiting for a medical 
examiner's report on the cause of death.
Eleventh this year
"That makes it 11 so far this year," said Estrada, referring to the number 
of illegal border crossers who are known to have died in Santa Cruz County 
since Jan. 1.

"We had 12 in total last year. We're not even half way and almost meeting 
the same numbers as last year. That is not good at all."
"This is very sad," said Georgina de la Garza Garcia, a spokesperson for the 
Mexican Consulate after notification of the incident.
She said that even though the brother of the deceased notified the next of 
kin, it often becomes the job of the consulate to try and locate the family 
of deceased Mexican nationals.
According to De la Garza Garcia, if a deceased individual has identification 
then the consulate attempts to find their family members through the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Mexico.
Consulate helps the family
Once relatives are certain that the deceased is a relative (usually through 
the recognition of certain belongings), the Mexican Consulate helps the 
family to transfer the body to their hometown in Mexico for burial.
If the victim cannot be identified in Mexico, the Mexican Consulate extends 
its search through its offices in the United States to see if anyone has 
inquired about a lost person.
Mendiola was from Iztapalapa, located in eastern Mexico City.


Kai Eiselein, editor
Latah Eagle