A 3-year-old Mexican boy died last month after crossing into the United States through the Tohono O'odham Nation border.

The boy was brought into the U.S. by his mother, Edith Rodreguez. They were traveling with a group of other immigrants but were abandoned in the desert.

Rodreguez kept on walking, while carrying her son, but eventually she put him down under a tree and went to look for help. That's when she ran into the Border Patrol on a highway on the reservation.

Several hours later, a search team found the boy under the tree, although it isn't clear when he died. An autopsy showed the probable cause of death was dehydration and exposure to the sun.

An estimated 1,500 people use the Tohono O'odham Reservation to cross into the U.S. every day.

Rodreguez kept on walking while carrying her son.

Get the Story:
An Increasingly Deadly Trail (The Washington Post 6/6)
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