Migrants dead in San Antonio truck crash had families, lives back home



















  • Identifying 51 people found dead in a truck in San Antonio is complicated because multiple countries are involved and concerned families of migrants may fear potential legal ramifications for coming forward.
  • Bexar County has 34 “potential IDs” for the victims, which included some likely teenagers and 39 men and 12 women.
  • People can search the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System for items found with the remains of unidentified people.

A phone number sewn into clothing. A wedding band. A new pair of tennis shoes.

These kinds of small artifacts may be crucial keys to quickly identifying the bodies of 51 unidentified migrants discovered Monday in an abandoned semi-truck in San Antonio. Experts told USA TODAY that providing final IDs on the remains may be a long, complicated and costly process, not only because multiple countries are involved, but because families of migrants seeking relocation to the United States may be fearful of coming forward.