(The Houston Chronicle published the following story by Peggy O?Hare on its website on August 27.)
HOUSTON — A Mexican national who claimed his wife and daughter were trapped inside a boxcar coming into Houston admitted fabricating the story after a six-hour search, and was arrested.
The man was charged with interference with railroad operations, a misdemeanor, Union Pacific Railroad spokesman John Bromley said Tuesday.
Union Pacific officials would not release the man’s name. Some law enforcement records identified him as Juan Jesus Fuentez-Banda, 38, while Houston Police Department reports identified him as Juan Jesus Fuentes, 45.
Immigration officials determined he was in the country illegally and placed a hold on him, said Luisa Aquino of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Union Pacific police searched six trains after the man jumped off a rail car about 8 p.m. Monday at Terminal and Avenue O, asking nearby residents for help. He claimed a boxcar door had shut on his family and he could not save them, residents said.
Aquino said immigration officials do not know the motive of the man, who was extremely intoxicated.
The man, believed to have entered the country a few days ago, was in Harris County Jail on Tuesday night.
“Anyone in this country legally or illegally is a human being — so we take those calls very seriously,” Aquino said.
“We will do everything we can to check out those stories, to make sure no one’s at risk,” Bromley said.