Indian Family Found Frozen On US-Canada Border Identified, Probe Underway For Human Trafficking

The deceased were identified as Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel, 39, Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel, 37, Vihangi Jagdishkumar Patel, 11, and Dharmik Jagdishkumar Patel, 3, all from the same family.

An undated picture of Jagdish Patel and Vaishaliben Patel with their children Vihangi Patel and Dharmik Patel (in lap) who were found frozen to death near the Canada/US border, Wednesday, Jan 19, 2022. (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: The Canadian authorities have identified the bodies of four Indians of a family who froze to death near the Canada-US border and are now investigating the circumstances in which they reached there. A case of human trafficking is also under probe, reported news agency PTI.

The deceased were identified as Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel, 39, Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel, 37, Vihangi Jagdishkumar Patel, 11, and Dharmik Jagdishkumar Patel, 3, all from the same family from Gujarat were found to have arrived in Canada on January 12. Later they were found frozen around 12 metres away from the US border.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is investigating the case with help of other agencies and urged the people of Canada to help in investigating the conditions in which the family travelled from Toronto to Emerson, Manitoba. The RCMP asked the people to inform them if anyone had any interaction with the family.

#rcmpmb can confirm the Patel family arrived in Toronto on Jan 12 & made their way to Emerson on, or about, Jan 18. No abandoned vehicle located in Canada, indicating someone drove them to the border & left.

— RCMP Manitoba (@rcmpmb) January 27, 2022

The RCMP Manitoba’s Officer in Charge of Criminal Operations, Chief Superintendent Rob Hill, said in a statement that there were no signs of an abandoned vehicle on the Canadian side that indicate that someone drove the family there and left the scene.

“With what we know so far of their activities in Canada, along with the arrest that occurred in the United States, we believe this to be a case of human smuggling,” he said. 

Canada’s Major Crimes Services and Federal Policing are also looking into the journey of the family in those six days between their arrival and January 19 when their bodies were found.

“This is an extended period of time for a family who is unfamiliar with Canada to be travelling across the country. A part of the investigation is determining whether this travel was facilitated in some way by an individual or individuals,” Hill added.

“This investigation is complex as it involves work at the provincial, national and international level,” he added, saying that other departments that are involved in the investigation are RCMP Liaison Officers stationed in New Delhi as well as Washington DC, US Customs and Border Protection, and Homeland Security Investigations.