A woman who was trying to climb over the U.S.-Mexico border wall became "ensnared" on the fence and died, according to police.
The 31-year-old woman was found around 11 p.m. on April 11, hanging upside down from the border fence off of International Avenue and Kings Highway just west of Douglas, Arizona.
"These types of incidents are not political, they are humanitarian realities that someone has lost a loved one in a senseless tragedy," Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels said in a statement.
U.S. Border Patrol agents and sheriff's deputies responded to the scene after receiving a call from Mexican authorities about a woman who was stuck on the fence.
"The woman reportedly climbed onto the top of the International Border wall and when attempting to maneuver down on the US side via a harness similar to rappelling, her foot/leg became entangled and she was trapped upside down for a significant amount of time," police said.
The woman was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. An autopsy revealed that she died of traumatic asphyxia, according to The Washington Post. Her death was ruled accidental.
The section of the border wall the woman attempted to scale is made of tall, vertical steel posts placed inches apart, and was built during the Trump administration, The Post reported.
The woman was identified as Griselda Verduzco Armenta from Sinaloa, Mexico, about 600 miles south of the U.S. border, Arizona Public Media reported. Her death is the fifth in recent months involving migrants crossing the border, according to The New York Times.
The situation serves as an unfortunate reminder that the U.S. needs to improve its border security, according to Sheriff Dannels.
"We have to do better in finding solutions to the challenges facing our border, and we have to do it for the right reasons," he said. "Regardless of opinions, it is the facts that should direct our progress and we will keep working towards a shared goal of border safety and security."
At least 650 migrants died while trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border in 2021 -- the highest number since 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration.
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