A family of four found frozen on the Canadian side of the U.S. border included an 11-year-old girl and her 3-year-old brother, reports The Hindu.
Authorities believe Jagdishkumar Patel, 39; Vaishaliben Patel, 37; Vihangi Patel, 11; and Dharmik Patel, 3 were dropped off at the border and walked through waist-deep snow for 11 hours, according to the Daily Mail.
Steve Shand, 57, has been arrested for human smuggling in connection to this case.
The Grand Forks Herald reports the family was part of a larger group of Indian nationals. The U.S. Border Patrol arrested 7 of them as they crossed into the United States.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police says the Patels arrived in Toronto on January 12 and then made their way north of the border near North Dakota.
“With what we know so far of their activities in Canada, along with the arrest that occurred in the United States, we believe this to be a case of human smuggling,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said, according to the Hindu.
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