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Posted by: kwflatbed

05/14/2007
Border agent found dead of apparent drowning in Calif.

Officer Down: Agent Richard Goldstein - [Indio, California]

ODMP

Biographical Info
Age: 37
Additional Info: Agent Richard Goldstein was a five-year veteran of the Border Patrol and was assigned to the El Centro Sector's Indio Station. He is survived by his wife, two stepsons, parents, and a granddaughter born the night before his death.

Cause of Death: Drowned
Incident Details: Agent Richard Goldstein drowned in the Coachella canal near Niland, California, east of the Salton Sea.
After he went missing, Agent Goldstein’s canine partner was found sitting alongside his vehicle, which was parked and idling near the canal. The Customs and Border Protection and California Highway Patrol Air divisions assisted several Border Patrol Agents in the search for the missing agent. A short time later, it was discovered he had drowned a few miles from his vehicle.
Agent Goldstein’s K-9 partner, Carlo, was wet, and markings in the area indicate the dog had been in the water and struggled to get out of the canal. Early reports indicate he entered the canal in order to rescue his partner.


End of Watch: May 11, 2007

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Border agent found dead of apparent drowning in Calif.
By SHARON McNARY
The Press-Enterprise
The death of a Border Patrol agent in the Coachella Canal remains under investigation but was likely an accidental drowning, Border Patrol spokesman David Kim said Sunday.
The body of Agent Richard Goldstein, 37, was found Friday floating in the canal near Niland, east of the Salton Sea and about 40 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border, said Kim, a supervisory agent in the El Centro Sector of the Border Patrol.
"At this point it doesn't appear initially that there's anything other than an accident that occurred," Kim said, describing Goldstein as a hero.
"He was on the front lines of securing the American border."
Border Patrol agents monitor the canal, which runs north to south, because smugglers of drugs and people often drive on its narrow banks to bypass an immigration checkpoint on Highway 111, several miles north of Niland, Kim said.
Authorities began a search for Goldstein soon after they realized he was away from his K-9 patrol vehicle.
They found his dog near the idling vehicle, and Goldstein in the canal water.
A search by California Highway Patrol and Border Patrol helicopters did not locate other vehicles that might have been involved in the incident, Kim said.
Although he did not have statistics available, Kim said agents face an increasing amount of violence from smugglers, "mostly assaults, whether they are immigrants or drug smugglers, throwing rocks, sticks, even shooting paint balls."
Last week a smuggler fired about 20 paint-ball rounds at agents monitoring the New River near Calexico, Kim said.
Services for Goldstein had not been scheduled, said Agent Enrique Lozano, a spokesman for the Border Patrol's El Centro Sector.
Goldstein lived in the Coachella Valley and is survived by his wife and two children.

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