June 1 (Reuters) - An investigation into the death of an 8-year-old Panamanian girl while in custody of the U.S. Border Patrol in Harlingen, Texas, showed that the family was repeatedly denied an ambulance, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said on Thursday.
The child died on May 17 after experiencing a medical emergency at the agency's station in Harlingen, three days after being transferred from the Donna Processing Facility, near the border in Donna, Texas, for medical isolation.
The family had been held by CBP for nine days despite agency policy limiting custody to 72 hours.
Neither Border Patrol agents nor the contracted medical personnel who interacted with the family in Harlingen acknowledged being aware of the girl's medical conditions, which included sickle cell anemia and congenital heart disease, CBP said.
In addition, CBP said, surveillance cameras at the Harlingen station had not been working while the family was in custody, forcing them to rely on staff interviews.
Persons:
Troy Miller, Sarah Morland, Ted Hesson, Leslie Adler
Organizations:
U.S . Border Patrol, U.S . Customs, Border Protection, Donna Processing, U.S . Department of Homeland Security, DHS, Border Patrol, Donna, CBP, CBP's, Thomson
Locations:
Harlingen , Texas, U.S, Harlingen, Donna , Texas, Mexico City, Washington