EDNA, Texas — As the search ramps down for wayward migrants who escaped Friday from a locked truck along a major Texas highway, authorities in the county where it happened say it's the latest in a series of incidents that are now in the hands of the justice system.
In Jackson County, 15 separate cases of human smuggling were presented last week to a grand jury, according to Sheriff Kelly Janica. Those cases were not related to Friday's incident.
The county, with a population of around 15,000, is located about 100 miles southwest of Houston.
As of Saturday, 69 migrants had been recovered from the scene outside Ganado and turned over to the custody of the U.S. Border Patrol, Janica said.
On Friday, the migrants were inside a trailer attached to a truck that had broken down along U.S. 59 near County Road 202 northeast of Ganado.
The group was able to escape and scatter across the countryside.
The migrants fled onto Dr. Robert Burlingame's property. His tenants called for help.
"Karen said we've got four men coming towards the house," said Burlingame. "And four more had walked by heading towards the pond. She was afraid. Her husband told her just stay in the house, don't go out and don't shoot anybody."
Overnight, another aerial search was performed in the area, but no others were located, the sheriff said.
Medics from as far away as Corpus Christi and Richmond responded to the scene and treated multiple people for dehydration and heat-related illness. Nine people were treated at Jackson County Hospital in Edna.
One of the migrants remained hospitalized on Saturday, an older man who suffered from conditions other than dehydration, according to Janica.
The driver of the truck was taken into custody by Texas DPS troopers and was turned over to the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security. She was not immediately identified.
While the intense search concluded, Janica said there may be as many as 40 people unaccounted for and deputies would continue to patrol the area.