Man charged after pregnant woman dies in attempt to cross US-Canada border

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.

Vasquez-Flores' death came amid a surge of people crossing into New York and New England from Canada. The incident became an example of the perils migrants face trekking through the wooded and often snowy landscape along the U.S.-Canada border.

Jhader Augusto Uribe-Tobar, 36, is accused by federal prosecutors of smuggling Vasquez-Flores into the United States for $2,500 and instructing her to wade through the river in the dark.

Uribe-Tobar pleaded not guilty to federal charges of alien smuggling and conspiracy to commit alien smuggling. He was detained pending a trial. Prosecutors say he is a citizen of Colombia and lives in Quebec, Canada.

''This tragedy highlights the dangers of illegal migration and how, as alleged, smugglers deliberately put people in harm's way for profit,'' U.S. Attorney Carla Freedman said in a prepared statement.

Uribe-Tobar's federal public defender declined comment in an email.