With no official record-keeping system, the exact number of illegal entrants who have died along the Arizona stretch of U.S.-Mexican border has never been known. In the summer of 2004, the Arizona Daily Star started compiling border deaths recorded by the Pima, Santa Cruz, Cochise and Yuma County medical examiners in an effort to present an accurate tally of the numbers of people who die crossing into the United States illegally through Southern Arizona. We hope this database provides a service to the loved ones of those who have disappeared. We also hope it helps the general public gain perspective on the number of lives lost. Data goes back to October 2003. The numbers above reflect the total number of border deaths recorded yearly in our database from 2004-2007. (EDITOR'S NOTE: In print, the Arizona Daily Star often reports the number of fiscal year border deaths in the Tucson Sector only, which is different than the number in this database because it doesn't include Yuma County. The fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 - Sept. 30). All information provided by:
Got a question? Got a tip? Border Deaths Interactive MapThe Arizona Daily Star mapped deaths documented by the U.S. Border Patrol's Tucson Sector between Oct.1, 1999 and April, 25 2009. Many of the causes of death are unknown, but when officials could tell what happened the cause of death was most often exposure to heat.
Zoom in and out by using the controls at the upper left. Click on a point to call up the Border Patrol's public records of the date the death was reported, the cause of death and the nationality and gender of the deceased. Locations are approximate and based on GPS data obtained from the Border Patrol. Some deaths in the Star's searchable Border Deaths database are not on this map because that database is compiled from records of county medical examiners instead of the Border Patrol.
Read the related story: 'Deadliest migrant trail in U.S.' is right on Tucson's doorstep
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