Cause of border agent’s death remains a mystery

The FBI announced Wednesday it still doesn’t know what happened to two U.S. Border Patrol agents severely injured while on patrol in West Texas last year. One of the agents, Rogelio Martinez, died from his injuries several hours after the Nov. 18 incident. His partner, identified as Stephen “Michael” Garland, suffered head injuries and says he doesn’t remember what happened. President Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott all claimed a deliberate attack felled the agents and used the incident to bolster calls for tougher border security measures. But after conducting an investigation that included more than 650 interviews, the FBI reported that it could find no evidence that a “scuffle, altercation, or attack” occurred. Martinez and Garland were responding to reports of unknown activity near Van Horn, a town close to the Mexican border. Garland radioed for help, and the dispatcher who took the call noted in his log that “[He] thinks they [both agents] ran into a culvert.” Martinez had a skull fracture, a fractured eye socket, multiple rib fractures, a broken collarbone, and brain hemorrhaging but no other internal injuries. The medical examiner listed the manner of death as undetermined. The National Border Patrol Council, a union for agents, has not responded to Wednesday’s report but previously said Martinez and Garland were attacked with rocks. The FBI will continue to offer a $50,000 reward for information in the case.