The truck is off on a rural highway about 2 miles north of Ganado. When authorities investigated the CT shortly after 7 a.m., they found a crowded trailer. They detained 10 people and others fled the scene.
Jackson Sheriff Kelly R. Yanika told reporters that nine people had been hospitalized for dehydration and at least four had been released.
People in the trailer told him they had no drinks or supplies, he said.
“Apparently they came at night, so it was (Thursday) and there was no water this morning,” the sheriff said.
He said it “could have been a blessing that the truck broke down” where it happened, because a man who could speak English told him they were heading farther north.
A press release from the sheriff’s office said 64 people, including the truck driver, had been detained and could “still have 40 undocumented people who have not been detained”. Undocumented workers were to be handed over to U.S. Customs and Border Services, the sheriff told reporters.
The people are from Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras and at least one other country, the sheriff said.
Yanika said there had been no other incidents of this magnitude with undocumented workers in his district. Most involve only a few people, he said, with some stops for up to 20 people.
According to a branch of CNN KHOU, people who fled were found in the property of Dr. Robert Burlingheim.
“I noticed two of them in the cornfields,” Burlingame said in front of the Houston-based station. “These boys were so desperate for water, he was just shouting ‘water,’ and they were going to run away.”
The sheriff said lawmakers would not be looking for more people, but would be in the area on Saturday and Saturday to offer help to people who need it.
Andy Rose and Jeremy Grisham of CNN contributed to this report.
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