A Family of 4 Froze to Death While Trying To Enter The U.S. from Canada, Man Nicknamed 'Dirty Harry' Arrested over Their Deaths

Two years after a family tragically froze to death while attempting to cross from Canada into the United States, authorities have apprehended the individual believed to have orchestrated their fatal journey.

Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, known by the alias "Dirty Harry," was apprehended in Chicago last Wednesday and accused of involvement in human smuggling operations, as reported by The Associated Press, CBC, and CBS News.

Patel, aged 28, allegedly engaged a driver to conduct multiple smuggling ventures across the U.S.-Canada border between December 2021 and January 2022, one of which resulted in fatalities, according to authorities.

The Justice Department asserts that Patel enlisted Steve Shand to transport several groups of migrants across the border, compensating him with a sum of $25,000 for multiple smuggling trips over the two-month span. (Shand has pleaded not guilty to human smuggling charges, with his trial set for March 25, per the AP.)

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On January 19, 2022, Shand, aged 47, was apprehended after authorities intercepted him in a white, 15-passenger van while he was attempting to smuggle two Indian nationals across the border. CBS reports that police also encountered five additional individuals – later identified as undocumented Indian nationals – walking through the snow nearby.

Upon inspection, authorities discovered childcare supplies in one individual's backpack, indicating that another group had been traveling with them but had become separated overnight.

Tragically, the family of four – Jagdish Patel, aged 39, Vaishaliben Patel, aged 37, and their children, 11-year-old Vihangi and 3-year-old Dharmik – was found frozen to death in close proximity to the U.S.-Canada border, merely 30 feet away. Despite sharing a surname, Patel and the victims are unrelated, according to CBC.

Investigators uncovered WhatsApp exchanges between Patel and Shand, purportedly discussing plans to smuggle individuals across the border, including one message in which Patel allegedly cautioned Shand: "Make sure everyone is dressed for blizzard conditions please."

CBS notes that Minnesota was enduring dangerously cold weather at the time, with temperatures in the northern region plummeting to 29 degrees below zero amid a wind chill advisory.

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