By: Real America News Updated 21 Jan 2022, 8: 47 am EST
A Florida man was charged with human trafficking on Thursday, after a family of four Indian citizens, including a baby and a teenager, were found frozen dead in Canada just meters from the US border, authorities said.
Agents Border Patrol agents arrested Steve Shand, of 47 years, when he was driving a truck of 15 passengers with two undocumented Indian nationals inside, just south of the Canadian border with North Dakota on Wednesday, according to the US Attorney’s Office in Minnesota.
Later, police encountered five other Indians on foot heading toward where Shand was arrested.
One of them was holding a backpack with items to to babies belonging to the family of four who became separated from the group while crossing into the United States, the office said.
U.S. authorities notified the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP ), who discovered the family (a man, a woman, a baby and a teenager) dead a few steps from the border in the province of Manitoba, authorities said.
“It is an absolute and heartbreaking tragedy,” said RCMP Deputy Commissioner Jane MacLatchy.
“These victims faced not only the cold weather. but also endless fields, big blizzards and total darkness”, he said.
During their trip, the group faced a minus wind chill 24 degrees Fahrenheit.
Authorities assumed the victims died from exposure to cold.
The five Indian citizens told the authorities that they had been walking safely brutal for a few 11 hours and waiting for someone to pick them up. Shand is expected to appear in court on January 24.
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