HIDALGO — Past the pig farm, beyond the landfill and among several deflated rafts along the banks of the Rio Grande, a Border Patrol boat hummed slowly upstream.
A loud bang sounded off in the distance, and three agents turned toward what’s known as Rock Alley, a steep bluff where the river bends sharply and the water between Mexico and the United States narrows.
Scouts mask as fishermen, some without bait on the end of their rods, along the edges of the alley. This, agents say, is the most dangerous stretch on the river between the new Hidalgo Pumphouse and a dam west of Hidalgo.
Other scouts often wander along the top of the bluff, notifying smugglers at other points along the river when to send narcotics and victims of human smuggling across.
“Hopefully that’s just a firework,” said Sean O’Loughlin, a vessel commander, of the bang heard during a Wednesday morning shift.
Another noise then rang out seconds later.
“You guys good?” radioed an agent aboard a boat shortly downstream.
O’Loughlin responded, saying “10-4. Looks like there’s some activity up by Rock Alley.”
Two more similar noises were heard soon thereafter, but agents remained uncertain whether it was fireworks or gunfire.
Because the danger that lies on the other side of the river often is unknown to them, agents who patrol by boat are in a constant state of high alert.
Last week near Brownsville, an agent assigned to the Riverine Unit, which patrols the river by boat, suffered a grazing wound to the back of his head after being shot from Mexico, according to a Border Patrol statement.
The agent sustained a “non-life-threatening injury from a small caliber weapon,” the statement read. “The incident is currently under investigation.”
A more complete version of this story is on www.myBrownsvilleHerald.com