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Prison Transport Bus Breaks Down on US 90 Between Marfa and Alpine

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Approximate location of broken down prisoner transport bus (Google Maps)

A prison transport bus broke down Friday morning on highway 90 between Marfa and Alpine  near Paisano Pass.

A Marfa Public Radio staff member reported seeing local deputies and at least one Border Patrol unit on the scene just after 8 AM. TxDOT workers were putting out cones and blocking off part of the highway.

Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson said the bus was parked on the pass where it broke down, waiting on another bus to arrive and transfer the detainees.

A Sierra Blanca school bus was reported to be traveling in the direction of the broken down bus.

We don't know who the bus was transporting, but Dodson said it frequently travels through the Marfa-Alpine area from Sierra Blanca to the Del Rio area, and that it's often transporting detained immigrants caught trying to cross the border illegally.

Travis Bubenik is All Things Considered Host and Big Bend Reporter at Marfa Public Radio.