Authorities ID Family Who Died Trying to Enter Minnesota

EMERSON, MANITOBA -- The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have identified the family of four who died in a blizzard as they tried to enter the United States in northern Minnesota.

The four bodies were found on January 19th. On Wednesday the autopsies were completed and the identities were confirmed.

• Jagdishkumar PATEL, a 39-year-old male;
• Vaishaliben PATEL, a 37-year-old female;
• Vihangi PATEL, an 11-year-old female; and
• Dharmik PATEL, a 3-year-old male.

They are all from the same family and are all from the country of India.

Their cause of death was due to exposure.

Police say that on January 12th the Patel family arrived in Toronto. From there they made their way to Emerson on, or about, January 18th. There was no abandoned vehicle located on the Canadian side of the border, which indicates that someone drove the family to the border then left.

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Meanwhile, another seven Indian nationals accused of illegally entering the United States in an alleged human smuggling case have been released pending deportation hearings in front of an immigration judge. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officials said Thursday that six of the migrants were placed under supervision and one was released for humanitarian purposes. All of them have been ordered to report to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, at a later date.