They Froze to Death?!

Thermometer with low temperature buried in the snow.

(StraightShooterNews.com) – In a chilling reminder of the dangers posed by illegal border crossings, an Indian family of four froze to death while attempting to enter the United States from Canada.

The ill-fated journey of the Patel family – Jagdish, his wife Vaishaliben, and their young children Vihangi and Dharmik – ended in a heartbreaking scene near the Canada-U.S, with frozen temperatures as low as minus 36 Fahrenheit.

This family’s tragic tale was part of an organized human smuggling. The Patels were among a group of 11 Indians trying to sneak into the U.S., with only seven surviving the journey.

Canadian authorities found the Patels later, dead from the cold. In Jagdish’s frozen arms was the body of his 3-year-old son, Dharmik, wrapped in a blanket.

Moreover, the U.S. Border Patrol reported a staggering increase in Indian arrests at the Canadian border, with over 14,000 in the year ending September 2022.

Hemant Shah, an Indian-born businessman living in Winnipeg, some 70 miles north of where the family was found, helped organize a virtual prayer service for the Patels.

“How could these people have even thought about going and crossing the border?” Shah said. Greed, he said, had taken four lives: “There was no humanity.”

Furthermore, the smuggling operation that led to the Patel family’s demise involved acquiring Canadian student visas and arranging transportation into the U.S.

Two men, 29-year-old Harshkumar Patel and 50-year-old Steve Shand, stand accused of running this smuggling ring and are now awaiting trial.

The upcoming trial of Harshkumar Patel and Steve Shand, both of whom have pleaded not guilty to human smuggling charges, will hopefully bring some measure of justice for the Patel family.

At the federal courthouse in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, Patel and Shand will each face four counts related to human smuggling.

Patel’s attorney, Thomas Leinenweber, stated his client came to America to escape poverty and build a better life and “now stands unjustly accused of participating in this horrible crime.”

Shand’s attorney did not return calls seeking comment. Prosecutors say Shand told investigators that Patel paid him about $25,000 for the five trips.

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