(The following story by John Tompkins appeared on The Facts website on June 12.)
ANGLETON, Texas — Several stowaways aboard a Union Pacific train fled a rail car Monday afternoon in Angleton after police were alerted to their presence.
About 12 to 15 Hispanic men were reported by Union Pacific personnel aboard the train when the police were notified, said Joe Arbona, spokesman for Union Pacific.
After making contact with Angleton police, engineers on the train and police decided to stop the train near CR 290 at South Walker Street to arrest the men on the train, said Angleton police.
“When the train stopped, they ran northbound,” said Brad Briscoe, an Angleton patrolman who helped search for the men. “We looked for them but couldn’t find them.”
It is not known how the workers on the train found out about the stowaways, but they contacted Union Pacific Railroad’s critical call center who then contacted the police, Arbona said.
“They reported to our communications,” he said. “By then the people had fled and who knows where they went.”
Union Pacific personnel had managed to corner two of the people in the rail car before they both broke in different directions, evading detention, witnesses said.
Police searched the surrounding area for more than an hour and were unable to locate any of them, Briscoe said.
“South Walker has a lot of homes around there,” Briscoe said.
Last year, 65,000 people were escorted off of Union Pacific’s right-of-way, Arbona said.
In 2005, more than 90,000 were escorted off the trains with half of that number being undocumented workers, he said.
Though the number was less than it was in 2006, the problem of unauthorized people and illegal immigrants riding the trains has not lessened, he said.
“We find ourselves dealing with not only people riding on the trains but also walking on the tracks,” he said.
“You have folks who are putting their lives in danger.”
In an effort to reduce the number of people riding the trains or walking along the tracks, Union Pacific set up its critical call center to which people can report suspicious activity, Arbona said.
The center has a toll-free number people can call at (888) 877-7267.
“We really do want to hear from folks,” he said.