A Texas police department near the border received a phone call on Friday claiming a U.S. Border Patrol agent was kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into the claim — even though U.S. Customs and Border Protection said none of its 3,100 Border Patrol agents are missing, Reuters reported.
“Until we rule it out, we treat it as a true kidnapping,” said FBI Special Agent Michelle Lee, Reuters reported.
Chris Cabrera, a representative with the National Border Patrol Council, told Reuters that an officer not assigned to the Rio Grande Valley sector may have been targeted in an attack.
Mr. Cabrera added that Mexican cartel members have not been successful in carrying out attempts to kidnap U.S. Border Patrol agents in the past.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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