Search underway for killer of agent
Abbott announces $20,000 reward; incident might have involved rocks
Gov. Greg Abbott announces a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the slaying of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in the remote Interstate 10 corridor of West Texas.
AUSTIN — Calling for increased resources to stop attacks on border agents, Gov. Greg Abbott announced a $20,000 reward Monday for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the death of U.S. Border Patrol agent Rogelio Martinez in the remote Interstate 10 corridor in West Texas.
The reward is being offered through the state’s Crime Stoppers program, an arm of the governor’s office. All tips are guaranteed to be confidential.
Martinez, 36, died Sunday after he and his sector partner in Big Bend responded to “activity near Interstate 10” in the Van Horn area, about 120 miles east of El Paso, officials said.
His partner, whose name has not been released, reported that they were injured and needed assistance, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. The partner was transported to a hospital in El Paso and remains in serious condition.
While union officials on Sunday reported the two agents were hit with rocks, an updated statement on Monday made no mention of what happened. Other officials, including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, said the agents were attacked.
Stu Harris, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council Local 1929 in El Paso, said he could not confirm whether the agents had been hit with rocks. “We are letting the investigation take place and seeing if they can bring these people to justice,” he said.
ABC News, citing unnamed sources, reported Monday that investigators are open to the possibility that the two agents may have inadvertently slipped into a ravine.
Martinez had been a Border Patrol agent since August 2013, federal officials said.
“We owe a great deal of gratitude to the brave men and women of the United States Border Patrol who serve every day to protect
our homeland,” Abbott said in a statement. “As authorities continue their investigation, it is important that they receive any and all information to help apprehend and deliver swift justice to those responsible.”
Abbott said that to become eligible for the cash rewards, anyone with information on fugitives can provide information to law enforcement by calling Crime Stoppers at 800-252TIPS or texting the letters DPS to 274637 from a cellphone.
The Culberson County Sheriff’s Department, the FBI, the Office of the Inspector General and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency are investigating the incident.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump tweeted about the incident and reiterated his calls for a border wall.
“Border Patrol Officer killed at Southern Border, another badly hurt,” he tweeted. “We will seek out and bring to justice those responsible. We will, and must, build the Wall!”
Abbott tweeted out his condolences late Sunday.
“Our prayers are with the families of this Border Patrol Agent who was killed & the other who was injured in this attack in Texas. Our resources must be increased to prevent these attacks in the future,” the governor’s tweet said.
Abbott has long been an advocate of dedicating more resources to border security. He worked with the Legislature to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to enhance work already being done by the federal government.
In a statement, Cruz called the incident “a stark reminder of the ongoing threat that an unsecure border poses to the safety of our communities and those charged with defending them.”
“We are grateful for the courage and sacrifice of our border agents who have dedicated their lives to keeping us safe,” the Republican senator said.
His Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, said on Twitter that his “thoughts are with the family of agent Rogelio Martinez & the entire Border Patrol. We will pursue investigation & justice.”