A Mexican man died Sunday night when he was intercepted by U.S. Border Patrol agents shortly after crossing into Vermont from Canada, according to Vermont State Police.
State police said the death of Jose Leos Cervantes, 45, of Aguascalientes, Mexico, is not considered suspicious. An autopsy was conducted at the state Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington; the cause and manner of death have not yet been listed, as further testing is planned, including toxicology, according to a press release from state police.
State police said there were no signs of trauma.
State police said they learned from Border Patrol that agents saw “three people illegally entering the United States” at about 10:30 p.m. Sunday on Goodall Road in the town of Holland.
“When Border Patrol agents responded and encountered the men, Leos Cervantes collapsed, while the other two men ran back toward Canada,” the release stated.
Emergency medical personnel were called and Leos Cervantes was taken to North Country Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the release.
No further information was available Wednesday. Vermont State Police referred questions in the case to the Border Patrol. When asked specifically whether any weapons had been used in the incident, Border Patrol then referred questions back to the press release issued by state police, which did not address the question. The release also did not address the status of the other two men.
As detailed in Seven Days, the Border Patrol recently reported a surge in illegal crossings along the northeast sector that includes Vermont, New Hampshire and portions of New York. Officials said there were more than 1,500 encounters and apprehensions during a recent four-month period, compared to 160 during the same period one year earlier.
