On September 21, 2019, Harlingen Border Patrol Station commemorated the 15th anniversary of the line of duty deaths of Jeremy Wilson and Travis Attaway with a Memorial Run.
On September 19, 2004, a U.S. Border Patrol Riverine vessel capsized in the Rio Grande River while on patrol in Los Indios, Texas. Border Patrol Agents Travis Attaway and Jeremy Wilson could not be located in the initial rescue attempt. An intense three-day search by the Yuma Sector Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue dive team, Rio Grande Valley Sector (RGV) agents, as well as other federal, state and local partners ensued. In the early morning hours of September 21, 2004, the missing agents were recovered near Brownsville, Texas.
Each runner ran the distance of 0.7 mile and relayed a baton to the next runner. The meaning of running 0.7 mile per runner allowed for 15 legs in the relay – which signified each year that the United States Border Patrol honors the sacrifice that Travis and Jeremy gave in serving our great nation. At the 15th leg, everyone in attendance walked to the finish line at the memorial site located at the Los Indios Port of Entry, with Mrs. Dorothy Attaway, mother of Fallen Agent Travis Attaway and Kelly Wilson, brother of Jeremy Wilson.
At the memorial site, family members, agents, friends, and law enforcement partners commemorated the fallen agents and participated in a benediction and memorial rededication with a new bench, led by our RGV Sector Chaplain Danny Martinez. “It is very important that we make the time to honor the pledge we made to the families of our fallen agents, that we never forget and always honor their loved ones”, said Patrol Agent in Charge of the Harlingen Station Henry Leo.
