Services announced for Border Patrol agent who drowned saving his children

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The funeral services for Eric Cespedes, a Border Patrol agent who drowned at South Padre Island while saving his children from a rip current, have been announced.

This Sunday, visitation for Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Eric Cespedes will be held from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Sunset Memorial Funeral Home, located at 657 Springmart Blvd in Brownsville, according to Sunset Memorial Funeral Home's obituaries.

A funeral mass will be held on Monday at 10 a.m. at the Lord of Divine Mercy Parish located at 650 E. Alton Gloor Blvd.

At 11 a.m., Interment is to follow at Buena Vista Burial Park located at 5 McDavitt Blvd.

‘Will always be remembered as a Hero’: Border Patrol officials speak on agent’s drowning death

On Friday, July 11, at approximately 2:40 p.m., South Padre Island officials said emergency services responded to the 1600 block of South Padre Island following a report of a swimmer in distress.

According to witnesses, Agent Eric Cespedes, 38, of San Benito was near the first sandbar attempting to pull his children, who were caught in a strong rip current during a family trip at the beach.

Cespedes was transported to Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen after several attempts at CPR by bystanders and SPI Beach Patrol, where he later died.

His body was transported from Valley Baptist to Sunset Memorial in Brownsville to proceed with his funeral services.

Law enforcement procession for fallen Border Patrol agent

On Tuesday, a roadway in Harlingen was closed temporarily to transport the body of fallen patrol agent Eric Cespedes to Brownsville.

Eric Cespedes served 17 years in the U.S. Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector.

He is survived by his mother, brother, wife, and three children.