WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — A Florida man has been charged with human smuggling after the bodies of four people, including a baby and a teen, were found near the Canada United States border.
The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota said Steve Shand, 47, has been charged with human smuggling after seven Indian nationals were found in the U.S. and discovered the bodies.
A U.S. Border Patrol in North Dakota stopped a 15-passenger van just south of the Canadian border on Wednesday.
According to court documents, the Associated Press reported that Shand was driving and was alleged with two Indian nationals.
Court documents said five other people were spotted by law enforcement in nearby snow.
The group told officers they'd been walking for more than 11 hours in frigid conditions.
The AP reported that one woman stopped breathing several times as she was being transported to a nearby hospital. In the court documents, officials said the woman's hand would be partially amputated.
The news outlet reported that the bodies of three people - a man, woman, and baby - were found together after a difficult search, just 33 feet from the border.
The body of a teen boy was also found a short distance away.
Officials believe the victims died from exposure.
