Illegal Immigrant Suspected in Murder of Arizona Rancher
Theft, robbery, vandalism and drug smuggling have always been part of illegal immigration in Cochise County, but murder is not something the cattle ranchers along the Arizona-Mexico border expected to happen to Robert Krentz.
By William La Jeunesse – FOXNews.com
Robert Krentz was known among fellow ranchers as a good Samaritan who often helped injured illegal immigrants trying to cross the boiling desert border into Arizona. But the 58-year-old was gunned down while tending to his ranch Saturday morning, and police suspect an illegal immigrant was to blame.
Theft, robbery, vandalism and drug smuggling have always been part of illegal immigration in Cochise County, but murder is not something the cattle ranchers along the Arizona-Mexico border expected to happen to Robert Krentz.
Police say Krentz, whose family has been ranching in southern Arizona since 1907, was gunned down early Saturday morning by an illegal immigrant while out on his ATV tending to fences and water lines on the family’s 34,000-acre cattle ranch.
Reached by phone early Tuesday at his family’s ranch, Andy Krentz, Krentz’s oldest son, said his father was a churchgoing man who routinely went out of his way to help those in need.
“My father was a very good family man,” Krentz told FoxNews.com. “He supported his kids, supported his family. He went out of his way to help anybody we could without regarding to who they were. It didn’t matter who they were.”
Sue Krentz, Krentz’s wife, said she was “pretty overwhelmed” by her husband’s death, which coincided with her parents’ deteriorating health.
“This is icing on the cake,” Krentz said.
In 1999, Krentz and his wife told PBS’ Religion & Ethics Newsweekly that the Krentz ranch had been broken into and burglarized of $700 worth of items. Despite the crime, Krentz said he helped any illegal immigrant he could.
“And you know, if they come in and ask for water, I’ll still give them water,” he said. “I — you know, that’s just my nature.”
Locally, the 58-year-old Krentz was known as a good Samaritan who often brought water and helped injured illegal immigrants who tried to cross the desert in an area where summer temperatures often hit 120 degrees.
Krentz radioed his brother Phil between 10:00 and 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning that he had encountered an illegal immigrant, and was supposed to meet Phil on the ranch at noon, according to sheriff’s deputies. When Krentz didn’t show up, the brother called police, and a search team was soon scouring the sprawling desert 15 miles north of the border, near Douglas, Ariz.
At around 11 p.m., a state police helicopter found Krentz slumped over his ATV, the engine and lights still on. Nearby, his dog lay critically wounded, also hit by a bullet. The dog was put down Sunday morning and will be cremated, its ashes spread on the property along with Krentz’s.
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