SAN DIEGO, CA – Two children from an Indian family are dead or presumed dead after a human smuggling boat capsized off the coast of San Diego, turning a dangerous journey into a heartbreaking tragedy. The body of a 14-year-old boy was recovered shortly after the vessel overturned on the morning of May 5, while his 10-year-old sister remains missing and is presumed to have drowned. Their parents were rescued from the surf by emergency crews, though the father remains in a coma and the mother is still hospitalized.
The family was among a larger group of migrants attempting to enter the United States illegally aboard a panga-style boat — a small, open vessel often used in smuggling operations. The boat capsized near Del Mar, triggering a large-scale rescue and investigation effort. Initially, U.S. Coast Guard officials believed seven people were missing, but confusion on the ground and gaps in communication delayed the accurate accounting.
By May 7, eight migrants who had been feared lost at sea were found alive. U.S. Border Patrol agents located them at an inland transit point, where they had been driven in three vehicles after making it ashore. One person, the 10-year-old girl, remains unaccounted for.
Federal prosecutors in San Diego have since filed charges against five Mexican nationals in connection with the smuggling plot. Two men — Jesus Ivan Rodriguez-Leyva, 36, and Julio Cesar Zuniga-Luna, 30 — are accused of piloting and refueling the boat. They face charges of “bringing in aliens resulting in death,” a capital offense, as well as smuggling for financial gain. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem stated that she would ask the Justice Department to pursue the death penalty against them.
Three others — Melissa Jennelle Cota, 33, Gustavo Lara, 32, and Sergio Rojas-Fregoso, 31 — were charged with transporting illegal aliens after allegedly driving the rescued migrants from the beach to a secondary location. Each faces up to 10 years in prison.