El Paso police are investigating the death of a 20-year-old man whose body was found in a canal in the Lower Valley.
The body of Cristian Yamil Bernal Mejia was found Sunday afternoon, June 28, in a canal in the Riverside area near Alameda Avenue and Fresno Drive, El Paso police spokesman Officer Adrian Cisneros said in an email.
Detectives with the Criminal Investigations Division of the Mission Valley Regional Command were called out Sunday to assist with the “body recovery” investigation, police said.
The Franklin Canal, which in sections runs parallel to the Rio Grande, is at the location near where the body was found, though police did not specify in what canal the body was located.
Police did not disclose if Bernal Mejia was a migrant and if the canal death may have occurred during an unlawful border crossing attempt. A cause of death has not been disclosed.
It is not uncommon for migrants to utilize canals that run along the border to try to evade the U.S. Border Patrol.
The body is believed to be at least the third recovered from El Paso canals since the increase in water levels for the summer irrigation season began when water for the Rio Grande was released from New Mexico dams on May 29.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso police identify man found dead in Lower Valley canal
Reporting by Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times | USA TODAY Network
