Man Charged After Pregnant Woman Dies in Attempt to Cross US-Canada Border

Man Charged After Pregnant Woman Dies in Attempt to Cross US-Canada Border
A Canadian police car is seen near the Rainbow Bridge border crossing into the United States in Niagara Falls, Ont., on Nov. 22, 2023. Usman Khan/AFP via Getty Images
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PLATTSBURGH, N.Y.—A man extradited from Canada was arraigned on human smuggling charges Thursday in the case of a 33-year-old pregnant woman found dead in a frigid northern New York river after she illegally crossed the border, according to federal authorities.

The body of Ana Vasquez-Flores of Mexico was found in the Great Chazy River just south of the Canadian border on Dec. 14, 2023, two days after her husband told U.S. border agents she had crossed illegally and was lost. Searchers found footprints in the snow leading to the river, where she drowned, according to federal authorities.