State Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr. and State Representative Eddie Lucio III recognized Harlingen Border Patrol Agents Susan L. Rodriguez, Ricardo G. Salinas, Jeremy M. Wilson and Travis W. Attaway, who died in the line of duty, with memorial resolutions at the Capitol on Thursday, April 27, 2017.
The resolutions were prepared as an expression of the high regard the Texas House of Representatives holds for fallen agents.
The proclamations were read on the house floor among legislative representatives and agents from the Harlingen Station.
In addition to the resolutions, Deputy Patrol Agent in Charge Orlando Sanchez was recognized for his service to the State of Texas through his actions during the incident that took the lives of Border Patrol Agents Susan Rodriguez and Ricardo Salinas.
Border Patrol Agent Susan Lynn Rodriguez and Border Patrol Agent Ricardo Guillermo Salinas
On July 7, 1998, Border Patrol Agent Susan Lynn Rodriguez and Ricardo Guillermo Salinas with other agents responded to a call for assistance from the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department south of Benito, Texas.
The Sheriff’s deputies were pursuing a double homicide suspect.
Agent Rodriguez was helping to set up a perimeter in an attempt to contain the fleeing suspect in a wooded area where he was believed to be hiding.
As Agents Rodriguez and Ricardo Salinas walked back to their vehicle, the suspect emerged from a cornfield and began firing on them and the other law enforcement officers on the scene.
During the ensuing gun battle, Agents Rodriguez and Salinas were killed.
Agent Rodriguez was the first female agent in the history of the United States Border Patrol to lose her life in the line of duty.
Representative Eddie Lucio III documented the resolutions as Ricardo Salinas H.R. 1637 and Susan Rodriguez H.R. 1640
Senior Patrol Agent Travis W. Attaway and Border Patrol Agent Jeremy M. Wilson
On September 19, 2004, at approximately 2:45 p.m., Senior Patrol Agent Travis W. Attaway and Jeremy M. Wilson were part of a three-man team conducting marine Border Patrol operations on the Rio Grande near the Free Trade Bridge at Los Indios, Texas, when their boat capsized.
Agents Attaway, Jeremy Wilson, and Javier Sandoval were ejected from the boat into the fast-moving waters of the Rio Grande.
Agents in a nearby boat responded to the distress calls and were able to rescue Agent Sandoval, but they could not locate Agents Attaway and Wilson.
An intensive multi-agency search and rescue operation that included the Government of Mexico was initiated, and on September 21, 2004, at approximately 1:30 a.m., the body of Agent Attaway was recovered.
At approximately 3:05 a.m., the body of Agent Wilson was recovered.
Both agents were located within 150 yards of where their boat had capsized.
H.R. 1639 and H.R. 1638 were documented to memorialize their deaths.
Senator Lucio also presented a State Flag flown above the Capitol to the Harlingen Station in honor of the fallen agents.
(Learn More about the dedicated men and women of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Courtesy of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and YouTube)
“On behalf of the RGV Sector family, we thank Senator Lucio and State Representative Lucio III for their efforts in honoring our fallen agents who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country,” said Harlingen Station Patrol Agent in Charge Henry Leo.
“This is a symbol of promise to their families that we will never forget their loved ones”
Please visit www.cbp.gov for more information pertaining to Customs and Border Protection and follow us on Twitter @CBPRGV.
